Glasgow hospitality breathes 'sigh of relief' as city set to move into level 2
Glasgow is to move into level 2 restrictions on Saturday (5 June) after nine months under strict rules, first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced.
This means hospitality businesses can serve alcohol indoors and people can meet up to six others from three households in a restaurant, pub or bar.
The travel ban between Glasgow and other areas of the country will also be lifted.
Leon Thompson, executive director at UKHospitality Scotland, said businesses could breathe a "sigh of relief".
Due to the spread of the Delta variant of coronavirus, first identified in India, the Scottish government decided to keep the city in level 3 of Scotland's five-tier restrictions longer than any other region, though Sturgeon said the situation was now "stabilising".
A number of regions moving to level 1 on Saturday will see a further relaxing of restrictions such as pubs opening until 11pm, including Highland, Argyll & Bute, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, Moray, Angus, Perth & Kinross, Falkirk, Fife, Inverclyde, East and West Lothian, West Dunbartonshire, Dumfries & Galloway and the Borders.
Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles will move to level 0, meaning there is no set closing time for hospitality and a limit on meeting 10 people from four households indoors.
However, 13 council areas, including Edinburgh, Dundee and Midlothian, will remain in level 2 for a further period.
Thompson said: "The hospitality sector remains fragile after more than 15 months of closure and severely disrupted trading. Whilst today's announcement provides progress for some, businesses need to hear that the Scottish government will provide meaningful levels of financial support to help them continue to trade and safeguard the jobs of their employees."
Colin Wilkinson, managing director of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA), welcomed the easing of some restrictions but said many operators would be disappointed to remain in level 2.
"We accept the need for caution as the country continues to navigate its way through the pandemic but that doesn't negate the feeling of deflation for businesses," he said.
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