Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the measures during a new conference today, saying that the high number of new cases "considerably heightens our concern that we are dealing with a significant outbreak in Aberdeen."
According to Sturgeon, 54 cases associated with the cluster have now been confirmed. The outbreak was first identified by the local health authority last week. Sturgeon said that despite the main link in the cluster having been identified, more than 20 licensed venues "are now part of the contact tracing picture."
A further 64 cases were confirmed for the whole of Scotland on Wednesday.
New safety measures include:
- Residents in the city will no longer be able to go into each other's houses.
- Extended household groups may remain but may only include one other adult who is living alone.
- Residents are advised to not travel further 5 miles from their home for recreational purposes.
- People from other parts of Scotland have been advised not to travel to the area.
The measures will remain in place for a seven day period, according to Sturgeon and will be extended if necessary. Sturgeon acknowledged that this was "extremely unwelcome news for the people of Aberdeen."
"The last thing we want to do is reimpose this type of restrictions. But this outbreak is reminding us just how highly infectious Covid is," she added.
Sturgeon emphasized that this "is also about doing everything we can to ensure that our children can return to school next week."