Nicola Sturgeon has defended her decision to overrule top government scientists who pressed for a “circuit breaker” lockdown last month.
The first minister said she had tried to “strike a balance” in forming Scotland’s Covid rules, after official papers showed the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) suggested introducing a mini lockdown in September to halt the rapid spread of the virus.
The Sage document, dated September 21, said a package of interventions was needed to reverse the “exponential” rise in cases.
Decisions @scotgov has taken in recent weeks are tough & have tried to strike a balance, but they’re rooted in advice – we have nationwide restriction on household mixing in the home; a ‘circuit breaker’ closure/restriction of hospitality; and consistent advice to work from home. https://t.co/HiZfAD6iWH
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) October 13, 2020
The paper set out a shortlist of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) that should be considered for “immediate” introduction, also suggesting that all university teaching should be online unless face-to-face teaching was “absolutely essential”.
Top of the list was a two or three-week lockdown known as a circuit-breaker “to return incidence to low levels”, followed by advice to work from home for all those who can.
Third on the list was “banning all contact within the home with members of other households (except members of a support bubble)”, and fourth was the closure of all bars, restaurants, cafes, indoor gyms, and personal services such as hairdressers.
Attendees of the September 21 meeting, held on Zoom, included the Scottish Government’s chief medical officer, Gregor Smith, and his deputy, Nicola Steedman.
‘We are seeking to find a balance’
In a press conference a day after the meeting, Ms Sturgeon announced that there would be a ban on household mixing, but stopped short of adopting the whole package of recommendations.
At the time Ms Sturgeon justified her decision not to close hospitality, saying: “People sometimes ask me why we don’t just close pubs again altogether – and I understand that sentiment.
“The answer – to be frank – is that we are seeking to find a balance between action to suppress the virus and the protection of people’s jobs and livelihoods.”
Asked at Tuesday afternoon’s press conference if the Sage measures should have been followed in full, Ms Sturgeon repeated that it was important to find a balance.
She said: “We have rooted everything we have done in the clinical scientific advice, there will be times where we decide not to do particular things because we judge the harm of them is too great.
“I feel very, very strongly that, as far as we possibly can, we should keep schools open. People will make an argument about shutting down schools and reducing all of the movement that is occasioned by schools being open; I think the harm to children’s education is too great so we should try to avoid that.
“So, these are the balanced discussions and decisions we tried to reach, but here we have absolutely tried to make sure that we are taking action that is rooted in the clinical advice, but also that we think will have a significant impact on transmission.”
Starmer in call to avoid ‘long and bleak winter’
Labour leader Keir Starmer backed the Sage advice on Tuesday evening, saying a mini lockdown was needed to prevent Britain from “sleepwalking into a long and bleak winter”.
He said: ““Introducing these kind of restrictions is not something anyone wants to do. This was not inevitable. But it is now necessary if we are to: protect the NHS, fix testing, and get control of the virus.”