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Sturgeon warns she cannot rule out national lockdown if restriction levels do not help curb cases

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon outlined the tiered system to the Scottish Parliament today

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has outlined the levels of restrictions each region is in to tackle coronavirus.

Moray, Highland, Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland have all been place in Level 1 with Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Argyll and Bute falling into Level 2.

The first minister said meetings inside two households in the north could soon be allowed to meet indoors again, but for now the ban on such gatherings remains in place.

Ms Sturgeon said there was a “finely balanced” decision made to put Argyll and Bute in Level 2 rather than Level 1, which she said was due to its proximity to areas where coronavirus cases are higher.

The level each region has been placed into will be reviewed every Tuesday, and then be implemented on the Friday.

The next review date is set for November 10.

Ms Sturgeon has not ruled out another national lockdown as she urged compliance with the restrictions being implemented – and urged people not to travel into areas at a higher level than their own.

Residents living in regions placed in Level 3 or Level 4 areas are urged not to travel outside of their area unless it is not possible to do so for essential reasons, such as travelling for work or to purchase goods.

“I know travel restrictions are unwelcome and can be controversial, but they are an absolutely essential part of any regional approach to tackling Covid,” Ms Sturgeon said.

“They are, unfortunately, a price we must pay for more targeted restrictions.

“If people don’t abide by the travel advice, the virus will spread from high to lower prevalence areas, and a differentiated approach will become unsustainable.

“In these circumstances, we would have to return to national restrictions.”

The first minister urged Scots to “dig in and stick with it”, adding that success in suppressing the virus will lead to the easing of restrictions across the country.

“We are, as of now, making progress in Scotland,” she added.

“But cases are still rising and the situation we face is fragile. And across Europe the pandemic is accelerating.

“So I cannot rule out a move back to nationwide restrictions in the next few weeks, including at Level 4.

“That could happen if, for example, cases in parts of the county start to rise faster again, to the extent that controlling spread with travel restrictions will not be effective.”

She has said measures already introduced have helped to play their part with the R number estimated to be sitting at 1.3 following hospitality restrictions and a ban on indoor gatherings.

Ms Sturgeon announced there have been 1,128 new cases in the past 24 hours, with a further 37 deaths recorded.

Only Shetland has recorded no cases.

Scotland has now had a total of 61,531 positive cases since the outbreak began, with a total of 2,791 deaths.