Coronavirus: Scotland’s ‘cautious’ roadmap could see beauty businesses open from 26 April

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has today (23 February) revealed the country’s route out of lockdown and tentative reopening dates for nail & beauty businesses.

In a statement at Holyrood, first minister Nicola Sturgeon commented: “Our watchwords are ‘caution’ and ‘patience’. The tools at our disposal mean we can now make a route out of lockdown as safe and sustainable as possible.”

Sturgeon added that if both the vaccination rollout and the ‘test and protect’ scheme continue as planned, Scotland will move fully back to a levels system from the last week in April.

At this stage, she hopes that all parts of the country which are currently in level 4 will be able to move to level 3, meaning close-contact services such as nail and beauty businesses would be able to open with some additional protective measures. Under current level 3 restrictions, mobile nail and beauty services must not operate. Sturgeon did reveal that the level system restrictions may also be subject to ‘revisions’.

Sturgeon revealed that the advantages of the levels system is that it will allow some parts of the country to move faster than others, if the data supports. Similarly to Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown plans revealed on 22 February, Sturgeon’s roadmap will focus on ‘data over dates’.

Sturgeon commented: “There is little doubt that we now have much, much firmer grounds for optimism thanks to the vaccination roll out, and the other tools at our disposal offer us a route back to greater normality.”

To view Scotland’s strategic framework for the roadmap out of lockdown, click here

Sturgeon concluded: “Of course, the more of us who are vaccinated and the more we all stick by the rules now, the faster our safe pace is likely to be. If we all stay in this together, our progress will be greater.”

The Scottish government intends to publish a further document in mid March giving more detail beyond today’s updated strategic framework, on the sequencing of re-opening the economy from late April onwards.

Note: The Scottish Government has launched the Mobile and Home-Based Close Contact Services Fund to help businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and it is open for applications until 5pm 16 March 2021. Click here for more information.