Scotland's nightclubs to close for three weeks from 27 December

Nightclubs in Scotland are to close for three weeks from 27 December, Deputy First Minister John Swinney has said.

It comes after fresh restrictions were put on large events and hospitality venues earlier this week due to concern over the Omicron variant.

Mr Swinney said a new law would require nightclubs to close for three weeks rather than have them try to enforce 1m distancing between customers.

He said funding would be made available to support affected businesses.

Mr Swinney said nightclubs would have the option to stay open by effectively becoming a bar - but physical distancing and table service would need to be in place.

He said: "We consider that closure in regulations, combined with financial support, may reduce losses and help these businesses weather what we hope will be a short period until they are able to operate normally again."

People in Scotland have not been told to cancel their Christmas plans, but have been urged to stay at home as much as possible throughout the rest of the festive period and to limit any gatherings to three households.

Mr Swinney told MSPs that there had been a "rapid acceleration of cases driven by the Omicron variant" in recent weeks, with concerns that the faster-spreading strain could overwhelm health services - despite early evidence that fewer people are needing hospital treatment than with other variants.

The deputy first minister said "we have to reduce dramatically the level of social interaction if we want to interrupt the circulation of Omicron".

New restrictions on public events will come into force on Boxing Day, limiting outdoor events to 500 people - meaning large Hogmanay events have been cancelled, and football matches will be played in effectively empty stadiums.

The Scottish Premiership has already decided to start its winter break after Sunday's matches rather than on 3 January to avoid playing more matches without fans.

Indoor events will be limited to 200 people seated, or 100 standing, and hospitality premises will have to return to table service while enforcing physical distancing between different groups of customers.

Mr Swinney told Holyrood's Covid-19 committee that talks had been held with industry representatives about how this could realistically be enforced in nightclubs, and said fresh regulations would be laid requiring them to "not operate as such for this three week period".

He said the government was "acutely aware" of the financial impact on firms, saying details of a £375m support package would be set out shortly.

Nightclubs were only allowed to reopen in August, having been shut for longer than almost every other venue during the pandemic, and had been subject to vaccine certification rules since October.