Islands demand talks over exemptions from new Covid rules after restrictions cause 'dismay'

Scotland’s island communities have demanded exemptions from lockdown rules, over claims that harsh new measures are unjustified in remote areas that have seen only a handful of coronavirus cases.

The leaders of Shetland, Orkney and Western Isles councils have requested a meeting with Scottish Government officials, to discuss concerns at the islands being forced to follow the same rules as the mainland.

While Scotland has seen record daily coronavirus case numbers over the last three days, there is little sign of major outbreaks on the islands, which have recorded fewer than 100 cases between them.

In their letter, the council leaders said the latest clampdown, banning visits to other homes indoors, had been met with “dismay” by islanders who believe they were an “unnecessary imposition in our local context”. The local politicians also complained of being cut out of decision making in Edinburgh.

No new cases have been discovered in Shetland, where there have been just 60 in total, in over a week. On Orkney, there have been only 20 cases and in the Western Isles, there have been only 13 since the start of the pandemic, although three of them, on the Uists, were confirmed yesterday.

Alister Jack, the Scottish Secretary, this week urged Nicola Sturgeon to take a more localised approach to lockdowns, rather than applying blanket measures across the country.

Despite the low number of cases, islanders and businesses are being told to follow restrictions such as the ban on meeting members of other households in homes, as well as the curfew on hospitality venues.

Steven Coutts, the leader of Shetland Council, which recently voted to explore independence from Scotland, said that as tougher measures had been imposed on areas with high case numbers, it made sense for those with less of a problem to have less stringent rules.

He also claimed that because there were fewer daylight hours in the far north, as well as poorer weather, the ability to meet up indoors was even more important.

“It must be remembered in lots of areas of Shetland, we don’t have access to broadband and digital calls, we don’t have cafes and pubs on doorstep in which to meet,” he said.

“So we must consider how we have appropriate and safe social interaction. We are seeking a willingness from government to have these conversations.”

In the West of Scotland, tighter restrictions on indoor meetings were recently imposed, given the higher number of cases there, before the ban on members of two households meeting in indoor domestic settings was extended nationwide.

“We would suggest that in areas of lower prevalence then logic would follow we should take the opportunity to explore appropriate measures,” Mr Coutts added.

“Every restriction results in significant impact on social, economic and other health issues. They must be adopted carefully and proportionally.”

Earlier this week, Mr Jack said he felt sorry for members of island communities who were being forced to follow harsh restrictions on visits to other households.

“I would say the R number is very high in certain parts of Scotland, very low in other parts of Scotland,” he said.

"I would feel sorry for the Western Isles and Shetland, for instance, on this household ban because there's very little prevalence of the virus up there.

"And if you're an elderly person and you're not able to have visits and you're lonely, my sympathy goes out to those people."