Jeremy Balfour MSP has expressed his disappointment for local business owners after the First Minister’s announcement this afternoon that Edinburgh will remain in Level 3.
It had been expected that Nicola Sturgeon would announce at the Ministerial Statement in Holyrood today that the City of Edinburgh would move down to Level 2 on Friday. Instead, the announcement that Edinburgh would stay put came as a disappointment to local people and businesses.
In Level 3 the rules remain that hospitality venues have to close by 6pm and that no alcohol can be served on the premises, restrictions that are eased for council areas in Level 2.
Scottish Conservative MSP, Jeremy Balfour, has said:
“Local businesses in Edinburgh were gearing up for the easing of restrictions that would allow them to stay open for an extra couple of hours and serve a limited amount of alcohol – changes which could make a massive difference to their income.
“Instead they now need to keep operating with Level 3 restrictions whilst businesses in Aberdeenshire and Argyll and Bute, council areas that have higher numbers of COVID cases per 100,000 people than Edinburgh, continue to operate under Level 2 restrictions.
“There appears to be no clear rhyme or reason as to why the Scottish Government has made this decision, despite its inevitable negative impact on the local economy.”
