Glasgow to stay in Level 3 as Covid cases remain 'uncomfortably high'

However, she said there were early signs that the escalation of public health measures including an acceleration of vaccinations was "starting to improve the situation".

New cases in south side trouble spots have fallen in recent days, she said and infections across the city and hospital admissions have stabilised while ICU numbers remain low.

Glasgow will move to Level 2 from next Saturday if hospital and infection case numbers continue to stabilise or drop and the position will be confirmed "no later than Wednesday".

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Nicola Sturgeon said she "didn't have to imagine" how tough it was for the people of Glasgow to remain in Level 3 restrictions because she is a resident herself.

They mean people are not allowed to meet in each other's homes, and pubs and restaurants are not able to sell alcohol indoors.

She said: "None of this is fair but what would be unfair is if I took reckless decisions.

"The hope is that we are seeing signs of the situation in Glasgow stabilising and improving.

"Case levels in Glasgow are uncomfortably high but there are signs of progress.

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"So the view of the National Incident Management Team is that it would be premature to move Glasgow out of Level 3 immediately this week while the situation remains so fragile.

"However, if incidence continues to stabilise, and assuming levels of hospitalisation remain reasonably stable, they will support a move to Level 2 from the end of next week.

"I want to be clear that we do need to see these positive signs continuing to make that a reality.

"My message to the people of Glasgow is, don’t lose heart. I live in the city, so I know how hard this is.

"But please, continue to help with all of the public health efforts that are in place. If we continue to do that, we will move out of Level 3 quickly."

There were 641 positive cases across Scotland - the largest number reported since May 25. Of those, 234 were reported in the NHS Greater Glasgow area, 132 in Lothian and 104 in Lanarkshire. Nicola Sturgeon said the R number could now be as high as 1.3, which is being signifantly driven by Glasgow.

The total number of cases across Scotland is now 234,312 and there are 90 people in hospital, seven more than yesterday with six in intensive care, two more than yesterday. Two deaths were reported 24 hours bringing the total number to 7,668. 

A total of 196,051 people have received first dose of vaccinations, an increase of 21,244 since yesterday with 28, 721 receiving a second dose.

"We continue to make really good progress," said the First Minister.

"We do think vaccinations is changing the impact the virus has, which gives us grounds for real hope." However, she said our understanding of the extent to which vaccines are breaking or weakening the link between rising case numbers and serious illness, particularly related to the Indian variant, is "not complete".

She urged the public, particularly those in Glasgow, to attend vaccination appointments stressing that full immunity was dependent on second doses and said the Government was working to try to alleviate problems that have led to higher non attendance rates.

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"This is never going to be a perfect decision. We try to leave it as late as possible to take advantage of the most up-to-date data.

"The best thing is to do what we are all doing and get this under control so that hopefully the news can be better by next week."

Asked if she would consider confining tougher restrictions to the south of Glasgow, the First Minister said it would be problematic to "sub-divide" the city and to enforce that in any kind of meaningful way.

"We hope that in the not too distant future the whole city can be brought down to Level 2. It's not just the south side that has cases."

The First Minister said it would not be an unreasonably assumption that Glasgow could remain in Level 2 for longer than other local authorities because of the higher number of cases.

Professor Jason Leitch, National Clinical Director, said the hardest part of the Glasgow restrictions was "keeping families apart" with the effect on hospitality second to that.

The Indian variant now counts for 50% of new cases in Scotland but appears to be concentrated in younger people. Mr Leitch said more variants were inevitable and said there was a much longer term decision to be made about future vaccination strategy and whether it will involve children.

He said there were ethical decisions why it might not be appropriate to vaccinate children and said it was possible they could be focussed on the over-50s in the longer term.

Areas with the highest rates in Glasgow include Ibrox, Pollokshields East and Dumbreck. Infections are now said to be rising in areas of Lanarkshire including Bellshill, Cambuslang, East Kilbride and Hamilton. 

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There has been a rapid acceleration of vaccinations in the south side of the city, where cases have spiked, with younger people also fast tracked and there are plans to set up drop-in sessions at The Hydro, starting this weekend, to catch over 40s who have missed appointments.

Additional funding is to be made available to Glasgow City Council to provide additional support for businesses in hospitality and leisure in Glasgow, with grants ranging from £250 to £750 per week.

Other areas of concern across Scotland including Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Clackmannanshire are continuing to be monitored.

Mainland Scotland is currently due to move from Level 2 to Level 1 on June 7. The First Minister said she is planning to confirm on Tuesday to Parliament whether that move will take place.