London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Partial lifting of Aberdeen lockdown restrictions

Partial lifting of Aberdeen lockdown restrictions

Some of Aberdeen's lockdown restrictions are set to be lifted at midnight.

Pubs and restaurants were shut 18 days ago, and restrictions were placed on travel and visits to other households, after a spike in Covid-19 cases linked to bars and nightlife in the city.

The five-mile restriction on non-essential travel and the ban on indoor gatherings will end at midnight.

Hospitality businesses will be able to reopen from Wednesday.

However, the reopening of pubs, cafes and restaurants will be subject to environmental health checks.

Talks have been going on throughout Sunday involving the Scottish government, Aberdeen City Council, NHS Grampian and Police Scotland.

From midnight, limitations on hospital and care home visits will also be lifted.

Businesses due to open on Monday in line with the national route map can also reopen, with the exception of cafes, restaurants or any hospitality element within them.

Hospitality business owners are being urged to get in touch with Aberdeen City Council if they have not already had an environmental health check.

The meeting heard the latest update from the Incident Management Team on the level of the virus and its transmission in Aberdeen.

The latest figures show a total of 427 cases have been identified in the Grampian Health Board area since 26 July.

Of these, 259 are associated with the same cluster linked to Aberdeen pubs, and 1,258 contacts have now been identified.


'I am very grateful to people in Aberdeen'


First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "I am grateful to people in Aberdeen - the local authority and health board, local businesses, and everyone who lives there - for complying so well with the rules that were put in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

"In particular I am grateful for the understanding of the businesses that were required to close in order to help beat the virus.

"It's due to the commitment of people in the city, as well as world-class contact tracing that means we are now able to lift some of these measures from Monday and then again from Wednesday, but it is vitally important that everyone follows the FACTS rules in order to prevent an outbreak of this scale occurring again.

"That way we can move forward and get our economy, our society and our lives generally back to as much normality as possible."


The cluster was linked to bars in the city


Susan Webb, director of Public Health for NHS Grampian said: "We must be cautious to ensure the progress we have made is maintained.

"Crucially, we must all be observing physical distancing from those not in our immediate household; whether at work, meeting socially, in a supermarket or out for exercise and recreation."

She said it was also "vitally important" that anyone identified as a close contact of a detected case followed the guidance on isolating for 14 days.

The local lockdown restrictions, which have affected 228,000 people in Aberdeen, were:

* bars, cafes, restaurants and pubs were closed

* no travel for more than five miles for leisure or holidays

* no travel to the city for leisure or to visit friends and family, even if you lived in Aberdeenshire

* no indoor visits with other households

* visiting suspended for most hospitals

A £1m support fund was set up for the city, with grants of up to £1,500 available for hospitality businesses.

FACTS


F - Face coverings. These should be used in shops and on public transport (buses, trains and taxis)

A - Avoid crowded places.

C - Clean your hands frequently, using water and soap whenever possible.

T - Two metres - observe physical distancing.

S - Self-isolate and book a test if you are suffering from COVID-19 symptoms.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×