Scots get freedom (for a haircut): Nicola Sturgeon confirms barbers and salons WILL open on Monday

Nicola Sturgeon today confirms plans to allow Scottish hairdressers to reopen from Monday.

The move will allow Scots to get their locks trimmed from April 5, a week before barbers and salons in England reopen on April 12. 

However it remains to be seen how many hairdressers will pen their doors on Monday, which is Easter Monday and traditionally a bank holiday. Hairdressers in Wales have already been open a fortnight.

In a press conference today she also gave the go-ahead to retail shops to restart click and collect from the same date – but warned shoppers to stagger their journeys to avoid crowds.

The First Minister added: ‘We don’t want big crowds at these stores, so although they open from Monday, think about whether you really need to visit on Monday or if you’re able to wait until later in the week.’

The moves to kick-start the economy will come at the same time as an increase in students in college returning to in-person teaching for practical subjects. 

Scotland will follow England and lift its ‘stay at home’ order later this week and replace it with a request for people to ‘stay local’, Ms Sturgeon also confirmed. A similar measure came into force in England on Monday this week.

The change was announced earlier this month and confirmed during the coronavirus briefing on Tuesday.

The First Minister said: ‘The stay at home rule is being replaced for the next three weeks at least with a requirement to stay local.

‘That means the current travel restrictions, which prevent non-essential travel outside your own local authority area, will remain in place for another three weeks.

‘I fully understand how frustrating that is for everybody – I share that frustration – like many of you, my family live in a different local authority to the one I live in, and so like anyone with loved ones in a different part of the country, I desperately want to see them in person.’