Scottish Conservative MSP Brian Whittle is backing his party’s call for a phased removal of Covid restrictions to start in February.
This would include ending many of the existing curbs, but not the wearing of facemasks in indoor public places.
Brian believes that with recent Covid data looking more positive, the time has come for the Scottish Government to move away from restrictions towards giving the public health advice and trusting them to take sensible precautions and keep themselves safe.
The Scottish Government’s projections suggest hospitalisations and cases will decline from February onwards.
Brian says that from the 31st of January we should see an end to business restrictions, the withdrawal of guidance on household mixing and social distancing, the scrapping of the vaccine passport scheme, school pupils no longer being required to wear masks as well as the phasing out of work from home guidance and the aim of fully removing self-isolation rules in the coming months.
The South Scotland MSP believes that it still remains vital to continue wearing masks in indoor public spaces like supermarkets, hospitality venues and public transport until cases fall further.
He went on to encourage those who had yet to get their vaccinations to take up the offer and encourage everyone to keep taking lateral flow tests, especially before socialising.
Brian Whittle MSP said:
“The latest data from the Scottish Government is really encouraging and suggests we’re past the peak of the Omicron wave.
That gives us the chance to take a more pragmatic and optimistic approach to how we control the spread of Covid in South Scotland.
The balance of risk between the benefits of Covid restrictions and harms they have on people’s mental and physical health as well as jobs and the local economy is now shifting and we need to adapt.
As the risk from Covid declines, the harms from restrictions become more significant and risk long term damage to our economy and public health. We should not keep them in place longer than necessary.
We have reached a point where the evidence suggests we can now move further towards trusting the public to keep themselves and their families safe.
The public’s willingness to take up the offer of a vaccine and use lateral flow tests regularly is hugely important to letting us do this and I’d encourage anyone who hasn’t had their jabs to get it now and everyone to keep testing.
I hope SNP Ministers will examine their own data and agree that removing restrictions on people and businesses across South Scotland is the next logical step.”
