for scotland or northern ireland over the most recent 24 hour period; it is the first time scotland has recorded no new deaths since lockdown began in march. 8 june – no deaths are reported in scotland for a second consecutive day. 13 june – the scottish retail consortium urges the scottish government to set a provisional date for the reopening of non-essential shops. 18 june – first minister nicola sturgeon announces the next phase of easing the lockdown restrictions in scotland. people living alone or single parents with children can form what is described as an "extended group" with one other household from 19 june, enabling them to stay overnight, while up to three households can meet up outdoors. face coverings will become compulsory on public transport from 22 june, and most shops are being allowed to reopen from 29 june. 19 june – as scotland enters the second phase of its road map to ease lockdown restrictions, the scottish government replaces its "stay at home" message with "stay safe". 21 june – no new covid-19 deaths are recorded for scotland and northern ireland. nhs test and protect, scotland's contact tracing service, is to send out leaflets to every household in scotland explaining how the system works, and what people should do if they develop covid-19 symptoms. 22 june – the wearing of face coverings becomes compulsory on public transport in scotland, with exemptions made for children under five and people with certain medical conditions. dentists are allowed to reopen for patients in need of urgent treatment, and health services are expanded again. places of worship in scotland can also reopen for individual prayer. 23 june – scottish education minister john swinney confirms that schools in scotland will return full-time in august providing the coronavirus continues to be suppressed. 24 june – first minister nicola sturgeon announces major changes to the lockdown restrictions in scotland. these include allowing people to meet indoors with two other households from 10 july, and reopening pubs and restaurants, holiday accommodation, and hairdressers from 15 july. the two metre social distancing rule stays in place for scotland. 26 june – scotland records no deaths or new cases of covid-19 for the most recent 24 hour period, prompting first minister nicola sturgeon to predict that scotland is "not far away" from eliminating the virus. 27 june – travel companies report that holiday bookings have "exploded" since the uk government announced plans to ease quarantine restrictions on travel abroad. but scotland says it is yet to decide on the matter. although the uk government has authority over border control, the scottish government must be consulted on quarantine in scotland because health matters in scotland are devolved to the scottish government. 28 june – following two days with no reported deaths in scotland, professor devi sridhar, an expert in public health at edinburgh university, suggests that scotland could eradicate covid-19 by the end of the summer. 29 june – non essential retailers reopen in scotland. july 2020 2 july – first minister nicola sturgeon announces that the wearing of face coverings will become mandatory in shops in scotland from 10 july. 3 july – the uk government published a list of 59 countries for which quarantine will not apply when arriving back in england as from 10 july. they include greece, france, belgium and spain, but portugal and the united states are among those not on the list. these changes do not apply to scotland, wales or northern ireland, where quarantine restrictions remain in place for all arrivals from outside the uk. scotland lifts its five-mile travel restriction, and also allows the use of self-contained holiday accommodation. 5 july – jeane freeman, scotland's cabinet secretary for health and sport, says that no quarantine checks have been carried out on passengers arriving in scotland from overseas because officials did not have security clearance to access the details of passengers. with security checks on staff now completed, they are scheduled to begin within days. 6 july – as concerns about increasing unemployment grow, the uk government announces a £111m scheme to help firms in england provide an extra 30,000 trainee places; £21m will be provided to fund similar schemes in scotland, wales and northern ireland. beer gardens and pavement cafes are reopened in scotland after fifteen weeks of lockdown. 8 july – in a break with the uk government's list of countries exempt from quarantine restrictions, the scottish government announces that passengers arriving from spain and serbia will still have to quarantine for 14 days on arrival in scotland. 9 july – scottish first minister nicola sturgeon announces that people in scotland will be able to meet up indoors with two other households from 10 july, and also in extended groups outside of up to fifteen from the same day. shopping centres will reopen from 13 july, and hairdressers and barbers, as well as the indoor areas of bars and restaurants, from 15 july. the majority of gates to glasgow's kelvingrove park are to be locked over the summer to prevent large gatherings, and following problems with anti-social behaviour in the park during lockdown. 10 july – as the wearing of face coverings becomes mandatory in shops in scotland, the uk government considers whether to introduce the same rule for shops in england, while prime minister boris johnson is seen in public wearing one. the scottish government gives the scottish football association permission to launch the 2020–21 scottish premiership on 1 august. 11 july – the number of new covid-19 cases in scotland has fallen to single figures after seven people tested positive in the most recent 24-hour period; there were also no new covid deaths in scotland over the same period. 13 july – shopping centres are permitted to reopen in scotland, while outdoor contact sports resume for children. 15 july – hairdressers and barbers, pubs and restaurants, cinemas, tourist attractions, places of worship and childcare facilities reopen in scotland in what first minister nicola sturgeon describes as "the biggest step so far" in easing its lockdown restrictions. scotland records its seventh consecutive day without any covid-19 hospital deaths, and also had three days with no admissions to hospital from the virus in the week ending 12 july. since 26 june there have been six days without a hospital admission. 16 july – first minister of scotland nicola sturgeon announces changes to lockdown rules for those who are shielding, effective from 17 july. from that date they can visit holiday accommodation, as well as outdoor markets and gardens. research carried out by the health service in scotland in a sample of 4,751 samples between april and june seems to suggest that less than 5% of scots have had covid-19. 18 july – scotland experiences its biggest daily rise in covid-19 cases since 21 june, with 21 cases reported over the most recent 24 hours, eight of them in the glasgow and clyde area. 19 july – another 23 new covid-19 cases are recorded for scotland, but there are no further deaths. health officials confirm they are investigating a potential cluster of covid-19 cases linked to a call centre in lanarkshire that carries out contact-tracing for public health england. 20 july – six people are reported to have tested positive for covid-19 at the call centre outbreak, identified at a sitel site in motherwell, and an investigation is under way. scotland lifts quarantine restrictions for people arriving from spain. 21 july – a further 22 new cases of covid-19 are reported in scotland, 14 of which are linked to the lanarkshire call centre outbreak. the scottish government announces a 2.8% above-inflation pay rise for nhs medical and dental workers backdated to 1 april. 22 july – figures released by the national records of scotland show covid deaths have fallen to their lowest level since the beginning of the pandemic, with six deaths mentioning the virus during the week ending 19 july. this compares to more than 600 per week during the height of the pandemic in april 2020. five local businesses, including pubs and cafes, are linked to the call centre covid outbreak in lanarkshire. children under the age of five with covid symptoms become eligible for testing; previously a test was only carried out if there was a "pressing clinical need" for it. 23 july – the 2020 great scottish run, scheduled for 4 october, is cancelled because of the covid-19 pandemic. the scottish government announces funding for 850 new teaching jobs and 200 support staff to help schools reopen on 11 august. the scottish government apologises to funfair owners after giving out incorrect advice that they could reopen on 15 july after they were subsequently forced to close again. 24 july – no new covid deaths are reported in scotland, but there are 20 new cases of the virus. 26 july – quarantine restrictions are reimposed on travellers arriving from spain following a spike in covid-19 cases in spain. four new cases of covid-19 are recorded in scotland, but there are no deaths for the tenth day in a row. 27 july – first minister nicola sturgeon announces that the temporary hospital, nhs louisa jordan is to be used to help clear a backlog of outpatient appointments delayed by the covid-19 pandemic following a successful trial with a small group of outpatient visitors. 29 july – a possible covid-19 cluster is being investigated in glasgow following 14 new cases in the city. the scottish government announces a hotel recovery programme worth £14m, designed to support the tourist industry until summer 2021. 30 july – first minister nicola sturgeon gives schools the go-ahead to reopen on 11 august, with all pupils expected to be in class full-time from 18 august. sturgeon sets a provisional date for gyms, swimming pools and indoor sports venues to reopen on 14 september, but says she will review the situation in three weeks to see if the date can be brought forward. the same date is also set for the return of spectator sporting events. sturgeon confirms the shielding programme will be paused on 1 august. the office for statistics regulation criticises sturgeon for comments she made in which she claimed covid-19 rates were five times higher in england than scotland. luxembourg is added to the list of countries from where travellers arriving into scotland must quarantine for 14 days following a rise in cases there, with the rule coming into force from midnight. 31 july – 30 new covid-19 cases are recorded in scotland, the highest daily rise since 4 june, but no covid-related deaths are recorded for the fifteenth consecutive day. the scottish government warns people against visiting areas of england subject to lockdown rules, after measures were imposed in greater manchester, east lancashire and west yorkshire. edinburgh airport announces plans to make a third of its 750-strong workforce redundant because of impact of the covid-19 pandemic. august 2020 1 august – the shielding programme is paused for england and scotland, but will continue for the areas where extra precautions have been introduced. 18 new covid-19 cases are recorded, a drop of 12 from the previous day. the three most popular historic environment scotland visitor attractions – edinburgh castle, stirling castle and urquhart castle – are reopened to the public, but will a reduced footfall capacity. as the 2020–21 scottish premiership season begins police urge fans to stay away from match venues. 2 august – health officials announce they are investigating a cluster of 13 covid-19 cases linked to a pub in aberdeen. 4 august – secondary school students receive their higher grades. having been unable to take their exams because of the pandemic, their grades have been estimated by teachers, but the body awarding the qualifications is reported to have downgraded around a quarter of the marks awarded in order to "maintain credibility". the number of covid-19 cases linked to the aberdeen cluster rises to 32. 5 august – lockdown restrictions are reimposed on aberdeen after the number of cases in the city rises to 54. pubs and restaurants are required to close by 5pm, and travel restrictions to and from the city come into force. 6 august – the number of covid-19 cases in aberdeen rises to 79. 7 august – first minister nicola sturgeon extends the