Scotland Covid rules: Children under 12 to be exempt from 'rule of six' restriction

New restrictions on size of social gatherings may make Christmas celebrations easier north of the border

Family gatherings will be easier in Scotland than in England after Nicola Sturgeon announced that children under 12 will be exempt from the “rule of six” north of the border.

The decision may impact on the scale of Christmas celebrations in Scotland if the new regulations are kept in place for that long, as many fear.

Boris Johnson announced yesterday that a new legal limit of six will be enforced from Monday, in response to a sharp rise in coronavirus infections, on the number of people from two different households in England allowed to meet up whether inside or outside.

Ms Sturgeon today announced that the same limit will apply in Scotland from Monday, but crucially said that - unlike England - under-12s will not count towards the total of six.

This could mean Scottish families avoiding the difficult decisions faced by parents of three or more children, such as transport secretary Grant Shapps who said that under Mr Johnson’s rule his family of five is unable to have visits from both his parents at the same time.

The Scottish first minister also announced exemptions for organised sports, places of worship, funerals, weddings and civil partnerships.

She announced a three-week delay in the planned reopening of venues such as sports stadia, theatres, live music venues and indoor soft play facilities, from 14 September to a new indicative date of 5 October.

And she said that working from home would remain “the default position” in Scotland, with the reopening of call centres  “definitely not” taking place before 1 October.

The Scottish Government is also making it mandatory for staff working in hospitality premises to wear face coverings and for customers in bars, restaurants and cafes to don them when moving around.

Ms Sturgeon accepted the new announcements would be “hard for people to hear”.

She said: “The pause in our routemap and the new restrictions I have outlined today are not welcome. I know that – the Scottish Government did not want to have to impose them. But they are necessary.

“And they reflect the fact that Scotland – like the rest of the UK, Europe and the world – is currently in a precarious position.”

But she insisted that the country was “in a much better position than in late March”, saying prevalence of the virus was lower than then and that the rise in cases was “not as rapid” as earlier in the year.

“So we still have grounds for cautious hope,” she said. But we have no grounds for complacency.”