COVID-19 Update – 22 December 2021
Posted on 22/12/2021
On Tuesday 21 December, the First Minister provided an update to the Scottish Parliament on COVID-19 and related restrictions. This reiterated the increasing challenge posed by the Omicron variant, the priority being placed on supporting the vaccine and booster programme, and the need for businesses to strengthen compliance with protection measures.
Our guidance documents have been updated to reflect the most recent changes. They can be read and downloaded below.
As part of the update the First Minister also confirmed enhanced measures will be put in place for up to three weeks from 26 December 2021 for ‘large scale events’ and ‘indoor contact sport for adults’ and 27th December all other areas including hospitality & leisure centres. These measures include:
1. Indoor Contact Sport (adults)
- Professional and/or elite indoor contact sport with approved plans and protocols in place may continue with training and competition. For further information regarding professional/elite sport please refer to the relevant section in Return to Competitions and Events on the sportscotland website.
- All other indoor (adult) contact sport and physical activity should not take place during this period.
2. Large Scale Events
Large-scale spectator and participation events can go ahead if 1m physical distancing measures are put in place and attendances limited to:
- Indoors – 100 standing, 200 seated
- Outdoors – 500 standing, and 500 seated
Further guidance relating to event organisation is available at Coronavirus advice for events from VisitScotland.org
3. Indoor Hospitality & Leisure Venues (including Gyms and Leisure Centres)
- 1m physical distancing should be implemented in gym and leisure centre settings. For classes limit numbers to ensure physical distancing can be maintained throughout the activity and at control entry/exit points.
- All indoor hospitality venues should reintroduce physical distancing (1m) between groups (maximum 3 households per group) as well as table service in settings where alcohol is served. Please refer to Coronavirus (COVID-19): tourism and hospitality sector – gov.scot for further information.
4. Stay Home, Stay Safe
For the three-week period, Scottish Government advises that people stay at home as much as possible, keep contacts to a minimum; and keep New Year gatherings as small as your family circumstances allow. Further Scottish Government guidance is available at Coronavirus in Scotland on gov.scot.
Business Support
The First Minister also confirmed that an additional £275m will be provided in business support on top of the £100m announced last week. Further information will be published on the Scottish Government website in the coming weeks.
Stay safe, and take care.
