Premises across 21 local authority areas under alcohol sales ban and 6pm closure from Friday
PREMISES in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and East Lothian will not be allowed to sell alcohol and can only trade until 6pm from Friday (18th December) after first minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that all three local authority areas will be put under level three restrictions.
Outlining the weekly review of local authority coronavirus restrictions levels in the Scottish Parliament today (15th December), Sturgeon also confirmed that the 18 local authority areas currently under level three restrictions (Glasgow, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, Stirling, West Lothian, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Edinburgh, Fife, Midlothian, Perth & Kinross and North Ayrshire) will remain under level three from Friday. Last week Sturgeon had indicated that Edinburgh and Midlothian may be considered for a move to level two this week, however, speaking today, she said case numbers in Edinburgh have risen by more than 40% and numbers in Midlothian had risen “even more sharply”.
The remaining local authority areas currently under level two restrictions (Inverclyde, Falkirk, Angus and Argyll & Bute) will remain in level two, under which hospitality venues can serve alcohol indoors with a ‘main meal’ and must close at 8pm, while outdoor areas can trade until 10.30pm.
And there will be no change for the council areas currently under level one restrictions (Dumfries & Galloway, Borders, Orkney, Shetland, Western Isles, Moray and Highland), where hospitality premises are allowed to trade indoors and outdoors until 10.30pm.
Sturgeon said the levels will be reviewed again next Tuesday.
