Urgent clarity required on Christmas relaxation
The Scottish Government must provide urgently clarity over the planned Christmas relaxation of restrictions, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie MSP has said.
Responding to the First Minister’s statement to parliament, Mr Harvie highlighted comments from the editors of the Health Service Journal and the British Medical Journal that the decision was “rash” and “will cost many lives”.
Patrick Harvie MSP said:
“When much of the country was put into level four the First Minister told us that was being done in order to reduce the rate of infection, so that many people could hope to have something approaching a more normal Christmas.
“Instead of waiting to find out whether those measures were effective the governments of the four nations committed in advance to the Christmas relaxation. A decision which the editors of the Health Service Journal and the British Medical Journal have said today was rash and will cost many lives.
“Now that we’re seeing an increase again in infections, fully a week and a half before Christmas, and a week before the Christmas relaxation comes in it looks pretty clear that the editors of these journals are right.
“It is rather concerning that the First Minister was unable to tell parliament what position she would be advocating on behalf of Scotland in intergovernmental discussions planned for this afternoon."