An Angus councillor has made a plea for tourism businesses in the county to be allowed to re-open as soon as possible.
Independent Carnoustie councillor Brian Boyd suggested the “low rate” of the virus within the county meant businesses such as guest houses, visitor attractions and cafes could soon be safe to resume trading.
He said: “We need to get tourism back into Angus. We are small and it is small steps we are talking about.
“We have very low rates of the virus in Angus and there is absolutely no reason not to be reopening and making sure our business are ready to invite people back into our beautiful county.”
He was speaking as three small businesses in Angus were granted alcohol licences, in part to allow them to better deal with the effect of coronavirus on their customers.
They included Peggy Scott’s, off the A90 near Forfar, which was granted a premises licence after owners said it would allow them to operate more as a community shop and prevent customers from having to travel.
Carnoustie deli and café owner Bethany Bowles, previously criticised for applying for 25 temporary licences in a row when the annual limit is four, was also granted a premises licence for her business Gather.
Mr Boyd, who also runs his own holiday-let business, who excused himself from the Gather vote as he knows Ms Bowles.
He said: “It’s lovely to see the small companies are being innovative on what they are doing and that Angus Council is ahead of other councils in Scotland in allowing this to happen.”
Licensing convener Craig Fotheringham, Conservative, said in response: “I couldn’t agree more.”
According to the latest National Records of Scotland figures, 66 people have died from the Angus area with Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate.
This compares with 157 in neighbouring Dundee or 111 in Aberdeenshire.
Other predominantly rural council areas have seen smaller figures, including 47 in Highland or 19 in Moray.
There have been repeated calls for the Scottish Government to lift lockdown restrictions on a regional basis, seen as a way of boosting rural economies, which are more reliant on sectors such as tourism.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she would consider the approach if it is supported by the evidence.
