(Bloomberg) -- Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said her government could reimpose coronavirus restrictions amid a record number of new daily cases.
The country of 5.5 million people reported 4,323 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the highest daily number since the start of the pandemic.
“If this surge continues and accelerates and we start to see evidence of substantial increase in serious illness, we cannot completely rule out having to reimpose some restrictions,” Sturgeon told reporters in Edinburgh.
The bulk of Scotland’s remaining restrictions on movement and social interaction were lifted in early August as increasing numbers of the country’s population received their vaccinations.
While about 80% of Scotland’s adult population is now fully vaccinated, there’s been a reluctance among younger people to get inoculated and approximately half of all new cases are in people younger than 25, Sturgeon said.
Sturgeon earlier confirmed plans to set up an independent judge-led public inquiry into her government’s handling of the pandemic before the end of the year. Scotland’s devolved administration is responsible for some parts of the economy, including health.
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