Scotland imposed new rules on the oil city of Aberdeen on Wednesday for tackling an outbreak of the coronavirus or COVID-19 cases, closing the pubs and restaurants, and ordering visitors to stay away.
"We are at a stage of this pandemic where extreme caution is necessary, and also in my view, sensible," the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon mentioned at a news conference after a meeting with the officials that considered the latest data.
COVID-19 in Scotland
She said an outbreak in the city had now accounted for a total of 54 known cases in recent days, and that in the last 24 hours there had been 64 new cases across the whole of Scotland. "This virus hasn't gone away - if you doubted that, then today we have evidence of how true that is," she added. "It is still out there and it is still highly infectious. "The outbreak in Aberdeen is a sharp reminder of that. It shows what can happen if we let our guard drop."
Sturgeon also advised against travel other than for work or education and said people should not visit other households. "We will be introducing regulations ... requiring all indoor and outdoor hospitality in the city to close by 5 pm today (1600 GMT)." Sturgeon said the action would be reviewed in 7 days and was taken in part to prioritize the reopening of schools.
(With agency inputs)
