Nicola Sturgeon has expressed growing hope of easing lockdown restrictions further but said there is unlikely to be an “abrupt end” to Covid measures such as face masks.
The First Minister stressed the health impacts of the virus could still be significant, even with fewer people needing hospital treatment.
Ms Sturgeon told Scots she would update parliament next week on the move to Level 0, but indicated she was now more hopeful this might happen than she was last week.
And after Boris Johnson said England would head towards ‘freedom day’ on July 19, Ms Sturgeon said she thought this model was the “exception” to the rest of the world as she promised caution.
Announcing 2,802 new cases of coronavirus and four new deaths on Thursday, the first minister said Scots could not “throw caution to the wind”.
“This virus is still dangerous, as we see every day.
“It is still taking lives, though mercifully thanks to the vaccines, it is doing so in far fewer numbers than we saw in earlier stages,” Nicola Sturgeon said.
“Secondly, even though the majority of cases are now in younger people, who are much less likely to become acutely ill, the health impacts can still be significant.
“Many young people are suffering from long Covid, which of course experts still do not fully understand.
‘Young people are not guinea pigs’
“It would be wrong and irresponsible, because our young people are not guinea pigs, to have no concern at all for young people infected with this virus.”
Nicola Sturgeon also addressed increasing pressure on the NHS in Scotland, including warnings about the impact of surging cases from NHS Fife.
Even as fewer people require hospital treatment, she explained: “It is still the case that 3% of a high number of positive cases will still put significant pressure upon our NHS.
“And because our NHS is much busier with non-Covid care…that pressure will be felt now much more quickly.
“It is already being felt, with some hospitals having to scale back a bit on elective care again.”
Speaking about the UK Government’s decisions to scrap rules around the use of face masks, Ms Sturgeon said this was “an exception”.
“It is worth pointing out that the path the UK government is embarking on for England, which is entirely a matter for them, a path of not just lifting all restrictions from the 19th of July but also removing the requirement for basic mitigation like facemasks…against the backdrop of increasing cases, is something of an exception.
“While I totally understand the desire that some have for us to follow suit, we have to think carefully about the steps we do take.”
Covid update next week
She added: “My job is not to take the easy decisions in a quest for popularity, it is to do what I think is most likely to keep the country safe as possible.”
The first minister said she would speak in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday to confirm whether the country would be allowed to move to Level 0 as planned.
If confirmed Scotland would move to the next stage of its lockdown exit strategy, with further changes planned for early August.