CORONAVIRUS UPDATE 28TH MAY 2020

Coming out of lockdown and opening up Scotland

The first minister says it is now time to move to Phase 1 of easing lockdown restrictions
From tomorrow people can meet with another household outdoors – recommending gatherings of no more than eight.
Also on Friday, people will be allowed to sunbathe and relax in places like the park, while social distancing.
Non-contact sports like golf, tennis and bowling will be allowed for the first time in more than eight weeks as part of the changes.
The R number – the measure of how infectious Covid-19 is – has been below one for a period of three weeks – and currently sits at between 0.7 and 1
The “Test and Protect” strategy to identify and isolate new cases is now up and running in Scotland.

The First Minister announced in Parliament last week how a phased unwinding of restrictions would pan out in Scotland. You can find the full document here, with summary tables of what would be included across four distinct phases of easing restrictions. Here is a summary of the main points, focusing on the issues relevant for the food and drink sector (and personal movements):
• There are no fixed dates for the start of phases 2-4 (but see below for a sense of a likely timetable)
• Everything is conditional on further positive progress in suppressing the disease (R remaining below one and not rising)
• Phase 1 has been implemented on 28 May, presuming no rise in disease risk in the coming days. At this stage, the main change is to the rules on social contact. You will be able to meet one other household providing you are outside (including in a garden) and adhere to distancing. You cannot travel out with your local area to do this or for other leisure activity. There are no major changes to business rules.
• Phase 2: pubs and restaurants can open outdoor areas, with distancing
• Phase 3: pubs and restaurants can open indoor areas, with distancing. Accommodation providers can start to re-open. You can drive beyond your local area for leisure.
• Phase 4: some mass gatherings can begin, subject to public health advice
• On schools, pupils will begin returning from 11 August on a part-time basis
• At all points, home/remote working is the preferred approach.
Timetable: there are no indicative start dates for each phase. However, the Scottish Government is committed to a three-weekly review as a minimum to determine the ability to move to a new phase (or elements with it). The dates for three weekly reviews are 18 June, 9 July and 30 July. At this stage, it seems optimistic in the extreme that those dates would mark the move to each phase. Ministers have made it clear there may be more than one three-weekly cycle between each phase. Notably, the reference to schools re-opening is in phase 3, which might suggest a working assumption of August before we reach phase 3. Crucially, if R rises or the disease risk is deemed to increase in any way, restrictions would be reintroduced, and we may go back a phase.

Test and Protect rolled out nationally

Everyone with symptoms urged to book a test.
Test and Protect – NHS Scotland's approach to controlling the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the community – will be rolled out across all health boards from Thursday, May 28.
From that date, everyone aged five and over who has COVID-19 symptoms of a new continuous cough, temperature or loss or change in sense of taste or smell should go to NHS Inform online or call 0800 028 2816 to book a test.
Under the system, people will need to isolate with their household as soon as they have symptoms and, if they have a positive test result, they will be asked to provide details of all recent close contacts to NHS contact tracers. Those people will be contacted and asked to isolate for 14 days.
As part of the roll out, guidance for individuals and employers has been published which sets out advice on what to do if someone is displaying symptoms or if they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. The advice on how that may impact on your business is in the link here:
Link to government Advice

The UK Government has announced that antibody tests will be made available for the first-time next week. Tests have been secured for devolved nations too, but it is down to Scottish Government to determine priority access. In England, NHS and care workers will be prioritised in the first wave. No decision has been taken yet in Scotland, but it would be safe to assume the same, initial prioritisation approach. So it is unclear when it would be made available to other key workers (such as those in the food supply sector). It is important to note that the antibody test does not guarantee immunity for two reasons: there is no scientific consensus that reinfection is impossible and, secondly, there is no understanding of how long any antibodies remain effective

Scots go Scotch during lockdown

Research by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and ScotPulse can reveal that eight out of ten Scots eat red meat at least once per week and three in four of those are happy to pay more for better quality products.
The study was conducted after a burst of promotional activity by QMS in March and April, ahead of the launch of a STV advertising partnership which aims to highlight the versatility of Scotch red meat to consumers.
The findings reflect the country's pride for having world class meat products on its doorstep, as three quarters of people agreed that they actively try and buy locally produced Scottish red meat.
Figures also showed that only one in twenty respondents think Scottish red meat is too expensive for them, meanwhile over half (59%) feel it is worth paying extra for, and seven out of ten are interested in health and nutrition and agree it is important that the meat they are buying comes from farms with sustainable animal welfare procedures in place.
Lesley Cameron, Director of Marketing and Communications at QMS, said: “This research clearly highlights that Scottish consumers still hold Scotch meat in high regard and continue to place great importance on the red meat they buy being of high quality and from local, sustainable sources.
“In spite of the challenges Covid-19 has presented to the Scottish red meat industry, it is pleasing to see that our work to promote Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI and Specially Selected Pork across Scotland has not gone unnoticed.
“We would urge consumers to continue to support the hard work our processors, auctioneers, butchers and farmers are doing up and down the nation to keep quality, nutritious red meat on their plates.”
The STV advertising partnership has been running in conjunction with a national 'Make It' campaign, developed in partnership with the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC), which has been working to promote British beef after the effects Covid-19 has had on the British red meat industry.
During this challenging period QMS has also been promoting the work of Scotch butchers and food suppliers that have changed their business models to deliver meat to customers in need, as well as profiling farmers for human interest stories about how industry practitioners are responding to COVID-19.
Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI and Specially Selected Pork are produced to the highest of welfare standards and reared from trusted Scottish farms which undergo the strictest of hygiene and quality measures, so consumers can be assured they are cooking with meat they can trust.
For recipe videos and inspiration visit www.scotchkitchen.com or follow Scotch Kitchen on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

The Scottish Craft Butchers office in Perth is now closed following government guidelines.
We will be available to our members to answer any queries via email or by mobile phone and will be available out of office hours for any members wanting to contact us.
Our contact details are below
Gordon King: – [email protected] 07917524313
Bruce McCall: [email protected] 07834490922