Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton Constituency, has called on Nicola Sturgeon to move West Dunbartonshire down to tier two at her weekly review of tier allocations.
This follows figures published by the Scottish Government which shows that COVID-19 cases have dropped considerably in West Dunbartonshire and that the area is doing better across a range of measures than some local authorities that are currently in tier two.
Up to 10 December 2020, West Dunbartonshire had 66 COVID-19 cases over seven days which represented 3.8% of the local population.
Meanwhile, in East Lothian – a tier two area – 123 positive COVID-19 cases over seven days, representing 5.4% of the population. Similarly, Aberdeen City is placed under tier two restrictions, despite having 265 positive cases over the seven day period.
Jackie Baillie has said that West Dunbartonshire’s consistently low COVID-19 figures means that there is no reason that the area should not now be moved to tier two.
She has called for more targeted help to be given to the local businesses who are struggling to make ends meet due to the debilitating nature of tier three restrictions.
Jackie Baillie MSP said: “The evidence is there is black and white – West Dunbartonshire should be moved to tier two. The First Minister should follow the science and acknowledge the efforts of local people in reducing the spread of the virus.
“Many local businesses have faced huge struggles in recent weeks because of the restrictions. This has been made more difficult when they see businesses in neighbouring local authorities able to trade more freely, when essentially the number of cases and rates of infection remain largely the same.
“Whilst I understand that there will be many factors in play, the numbers don’t lie, and I hope that the First Minister will recognise that West Dunbartonshire should be moved down to tier two this week.”