So it looks like Scotland will be locked down longer than the rest of the uk

[frasersmummy]

Judging by Nicola Sturgeons remarks today Scotland will remain In lockdown as it is now till the end of May while England will start easing up

Given we have so many less deaths in Scotland does anyone else feel Nicola is just making an independence point now

By very little is going to change on Monday anywhere anyway.

Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon are two completely different characters.

He is incredibly political his statement about lockdown easing was a move designed to show control. Easing was picked because it means cautious and gradual. I fully expect today it will be increased for another 3 weeks but with the ‘reassuring’ platitude of I will tell you on Sunday our plans to start easing it. Sunday will then show that not much is starting until June (and that will include for England some schools). He is the benign parent telling you Santa is coming even though you are never quite sure of his motives

Nicola Sturgeon is very much the opposite tells it like it is straight talking likes to think she always tells the truth (which isn’t the same as telling the truth) and would never pretend everything is ok.

These approaches tend to make you think they are saying different things but by and large I don’t think they are

NRS is the Scottish equivalent of ONS and has the deaths breakdowns.

For the people saying Scotland "hasn't hit the peak yet" or is "two weeks behind England" we've been in lockdown for nearly 7 weeks. How would it rise higher than about 3 weeks from when people were moving freely?!

The north-east figures are a subject for debate as there's some confusion about how accurate they are, as different ones have been issued and subsequently revised. I suspect some reporting issues are at least partly to blame for the 'spike' rather than it being the NE (where I live) is suddenly riddled with it.

Thanks dreamersandwishers really helpful thanks

“How would it rise higher than about 3 weeks from when people were moving freely?!“

If restrictions are put in place before it’s really spread then it’ll still keep rising among the people that are still working.

Is the general feeling of animosity towards NS because she's Scottish? Or because she's not Tory? Or because she's female? I don't see the same level of animosity towards the leaders of Wales or Northern Ireland.

The figures speak for themselves. It is not safe to lift lockdown yet. Doing so would be extremely stupid, unless the plan is to wait for a second wave to hit. Maybe Westminster could be more transparent in their plan?

My animosity to NS is because she is being deliberately obtuse. It sounds good to voters

My issue is the economy, our young people and the dreaded second wave come autumn.

There is a lot of comparisons happening (not just on this thread) in relation to RoI, Scotland, and England.

England is a very different country in terms of geographical size, population size and density, number and size of cities, diversity, and hosts the busiest airport in the world.

Comparing efficacy of leaders just isn't accurate. We have no idea who has made 'better' choices at this stage. And I'd guess, years from now when we can look back and see which countries fared better, it will have largely been down to luck. There are so many contributing factors to this situation, and that's before we even look at the virus itself.

Lockdown being eased and lockdown lifted are not the same thing though

I think she is doing the right thing. Can't really understand any support for Boris up here. He's not your pal.

@Calledyoulastnightfromglasgow

What do you feel she's being obtuse about?

I think the UK will extend theirs to the 28th too like Nicola will

Firstly I think you mean England. Scotland is part of the Uk. And Boris already stated he is lifting some restrictions from Monday, he clearly wasn’t lying.

I think Scotland has a different school timetable plus are a couple of weeks behind England so I would assume she will lift just a couple of weeks later, with schools maybe off for longer.

If restrictions are put in place before it’s really spread then it’ll still keep rising among the people that are still working.

Which means if it's still rising in Scotland we went into lockdown too soon. So failed to actually time lockdown properly.

I honestly believe if lockdown is eased in england and not scotland that there will be riots..

Who? Honestly who will riot? We didn't riot when the Poll Tax was foisted upon us I hardly think there will be riots when we are told we can't sunbathe when England can

jemima I believe she is trying to appeal
to terrified Scottish voters who otherwise would never vote SNP.

But come September this approach will work
against us.

We don’t want a value of 0 - we need it to keep spreading slowly or this will never end

“Which means if it's still rising in Scotland we went into lockdown too soon. So failed to actually time lockdown properly.”

Well that depends what the purpose of it is really...and of course being physically attached to a country that’s decided to let it spread kind of limits what you can do anyway.

Gavisconismyfriend

....... Boris et al are bowing to public pressure by easing lockdown so soon .....

But they’re not, quite the opposite. Latest Opinium poll shows only 1 in 5 are supportive of lockdown measures being lifted now.

The pressure is being driven mostly by certain business sector leaders and the media.

Joe Public generally understands that a virus won’t just go away because businesses are (understandably) desperate to open and are scared of a second wave. Even when they eventually do, I don’t think large numbers of people will be visiting hospitality/
entertainment/holiday businesses any time soon.
Add Brexit uncertainty, even those who do want to venture out will be mindful of their financial situation going forward.

*Genuine question. Does devolution give Nicola the power to arrange all of that for Scotland?

Sourcing and then purchasing accurate tests, implement the testing set-up, procure the PPE, decide on treatment protocols, etc?*

Absolutely! The NHS is devolved in Scotland. Why on earth would England be responsible for buying supplies for a devolved NHS? Scotland might consider NICE guidelines but they only apply in England; Scotland has had its own treatment protocols and drugs arrangements and has done so for many years. Of course supplies, testing regimes, treatment in Scotland all falls under the Nicola Sturgeon’s remit.

Central belt shire may have hit their peak but according to reports it’s still rising further north in the forgotten part of the country outwith Glasgow and Edinburgh. I’m no snp or independence fan, but if the medical and scientific experts believe Scotland needs further lockdown then I trust them.

I suspect that there may be areas in Scotland where rule breaking is strong. Because it doesn't look like r is below 1, it looks about 1. Whereas in other areas R is clearly below 1 hence the decline in hospital admissions.

I may be wrong but I don’t think the death rate in Scotland is that different to England. We have 10% of the population and therefore roughly 10% of the deaths that England have. It just sounds better cos it’s lower numbers. And in Scotland this week is the first week that the number of weekly deaths has fallen only slightly. So I don’t think we are peaked yet or much past the peak. We need to lockdown longer until we see a downward curve

Do you trust the science “experts” though? Who are they? Why does it differ so much between countries. Plenty of so called experts disagree

In five years time we can extrapolate all data and my money is on Sweden faring far better in the longer term because it won’t have to kill people with austerity

We don't even know if Boris is going to ease lockdown. I very much doubt it will be immediately I think another 3 weeks then we will see some easing which will give people something to work towards. Nicola normally comes out with it first and it's normally the same as what Boris is saying anyway. Just wait until sunday 🤷‍♀️ I like Nicola and always vote snp but I do think she's been trying to get in there first so she doesn't look like she's just a wee dog doing as her master tells her and she's quite right in doing so!

I think some areas of Scotland may have a false sense of security that our death rates are lower than England which isn’t really the case. And people may not be sticking to the lock down. Hence the r number isn’t actually that good. We need to lock down harder if anything. I think NS is absolutely correct