BUSINESSES are "deeply disappointed and disillusioned" over the latest lockdown move for Glasgow, a Scottish business leader has said.
Glasgow is the only part of Scotland to remain at a higher tier of coronavirus restrictions after Nicola Sturgeon announced the Moray council area will drop to Level Two.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Glasgow will remain at Level Three for a further week before review.
She said improvements following measures brought in to tackle an outbreak in Moray mean it can drop to Level Two from midnight on Friday.
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East Renfrewshire, which has a higher seven-day average rate of cases per 100,000 people at 118.3 than Glasgow, will remain in Level Two.
Liz Cameron , chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: "Today’s announcement will bring a mixture of relief and anxiety. Whilst more businesses in Moray will now be able to open from midnight tonight and East Renfrewshire businesses will not have to close again, Glasgow businesses remain under strict trading and travel restrictions.
“The business community in Glasgow were handed a hammer blow last week and are deeply disappointed and disillusioned that more businesses could now reach crisis point as a result of these extended restrictions.
"The absolute priority must be to focus on managing these local outbreaks quickly to enable Scotland’s most populated city to open up, in line with the rest of the country.
“Businesses have invested heavily in Covid safe measures and equipment and want a fair opportunity to trade. They have created safe environments and need time to plan and rebuild confidence. To support restart efforts, we urge the Scottish Government to accelerate and expand the vaccination programme to as many people as possible, particularly in hotspot areas.
“The Scottish Government must ensure that adequate and targeted financial compensation is provided quickly. We also urge the UK Government to accept these outbreaks as special cases and be flexible with furlough criteria for businesses who have recruited new staff or have brought back their employees, they should be able to use the furlough scheme to protect jobs.”
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