This morning the First Minister gave a press conference updating on the COVID-19 Omicron variant, first identified in South Africa. The emergence of this variant is a very recent development and more analysis is needed to fully understand any impact that it may have. Some changes to international travel have already been announced on a precautionary basis.
At this point in time there is no information to suggest that the symptoms differ, or that this strain causes more severe illness – however there is some early evidence suggesting it may be more transmissible.
The First Minister did not announce any changes to the existing baseline safety measures in place across the country, but she did stress that we should all re-double our efforts to follow those measures until more is known about the new variant. Here is a reminder of those measures, with links to further information:
Scottish Government baseline safety measures
- get the vaccine or the vaccine booster (now available to anyone over 40 years old, with appointments available through the online portal)
- if you don’t have symptoms take regular lateral flow tests – especially before mixing with other people
- wear a face covering where required
- if you have symptoms - self isolate and book a PCR test
- wash your hands regularly, and cover your nose and mouth if coughing or sneezing
- open windows when meeting indoors
- if you can, keep your distance from people not in your group
- work from home if you can
- use the apps: COVID status (vaccine passport), Protect Scotland and Check-in Scotland
Throughout the pandemic, SCTS has taken a cautious approach, maintaining our own strong baseline measures including enhanced cleaning and contact logging. Our buildings are only open to those involved in court or tribunal business at this time, to minimise crowding and provide the safest possible environment. The safety of everyone using our buildings remains our top priority and we will be maintaining the following measures:
Current safety measures for all who use our buildings
- We encourage everyone to respect personal space and maintain at least 1m physical distancing in all our buildings.
- We continue to encourage good hand hygiene, maintain enhanced surface cleaning – especially of high touch-point areas – and maintain good ventilation.
- The legal requirement for face coverings to be worn in our buildings is still in place.
- Our “Safe2Go” contact system continues to require all those accessing our buildings to check-in and check-out using the system.
- General public access to our buildings will continue to be restricted and public counters remain closed.
- We continue to support home working arrangements where possible
We are all looking forward to these measures being eased as soon as it is safe to do so – but it is right to take a cautious approach in the current circumstances. So we are asking for your help, again, to keep your guard up, wash your hands frequently, wear face-coverings, keep your distance and keep taking regular lateral flow tests before coming to SCTS premises, or if you’re meeting friends or family in a social setting.
We will be keeping a close eye on the latest public health guidance and will provide updates as and when there are any developments or changes required. Until then, please stay safe and keep following all the measures.