The leader of Angus Council has said he supports the decision to place the county in Tier 3 — just days after saying it would have “monumental consequences”.
Councillor David Fairweather fought for Angus to remain at level two but now admits the tighter restrictions will help ease pressure on NHS Tayside.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced earlier this week that Angus, as well as Fife and Perth & Kinross, will all be placed in Tier 3.
At the time, Mr Fairweather said: “I’m just so disappointed. I feel it is wholly unjustified to give businesses a lifeline for a week then take it away.
“The consequences in Angus are looking monumental.”
He now supports the decision.
“On an official call with the chief executive and Scottish Government officials I made a case for Angus to remain in level two in order to support local businesses,” he said.
“The chief executive and I were concerned about the economic impact of moving up a level as the council is committed to doing all that we sensibly and realistically can to support businesses across Angus. However, the safety of the people of Angus is absolutely our number one priority.
“When we scrutinise all the data and understand the potential impact on the NHS as numbers continue to climb, we agree that Angus must move into level three.
“Covid-19 is in our community. I believe that everyone in Angus can be reassured that cases are reviewed daily and the situation assessed weekly.”