Nicola Sturgeon warns of dangers of 'house parties' in Scotland

August 13, 2020 [View email online]( [News]( [Sport]( [Arts and Culture]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [The Scotsman] Aug 13, 2020 Good afternoon, Scotland's First Minister has warned that people holding ‘house parties’, as well as a failure to social distance in pubs, could be contributing to the spread of coronavirus, as she said the transmission rate of Covid-19 was estimated to be back above 1 for the first time in three months. [At her daily coronavirus briefing](, Nicola Sturgeon said that as well as fears about the risks of transmission in pubs and restaurants if people failed to stay two metres apart, there was new concern about “house parties”. The First Minister said she had no specific figures on house parties, but that the concern came from data being collected by the test and protect service which had noted that house parties were where Covid had been likely transmitted. Ms Sturgeon also revealed that the R number – the rate of transmission of Covid – was rising again. While it had been between 0.7 and 1 back in May when she refused to lift the national lockdown, falling to between 0.6 and 0.8 when lockdown easing began, she said new estimates placed it as high as 1.3 last week. Message from the editor While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you. With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription. Subscribe to [scotsman.com]( and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit [( now to sign up. Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website. Your feedback is really important, please email me with any comments and suggestions at joy.yates@jpimedia.co.uk Joy Yates Editorial Director JPIMedia Scotland [New cluster of Covid cases include children from a Scottish high school]( The health board report that none of the cases are experiencing anything but mild cases. [{$escapedtitle}]( [Subscribe to The Scotsman today!]( [Article Image]( [These are the local authorities in Scotland with the highest coronavirus infection rates right now]( Aberdeen has been put under local lockdown following an outbreak of more than 50 coronavirus cases, forcing the Scottish Government to reimpose restrictions [Article Image]( [Grant for self employed: when is the deadline to claim the second installment of SEISS grant - and how to apply through HMRC]( Self-employed people adversely affected by coronavirus can claim a taxable grant [Article Image]( [You can use this postcode checker to find out what the latest lockdown rules are in your area]( Several parts of the UK are following different rules after local lockdowns were imposed in areas with a high number of coronavirus infections [Article Image]( [UK study finds Ibrupofen does not increase risk of Covid-19 death]( A new study conducted during the height of UK hospital admissions from Covid-19 has found that the regular use of painkillers including ibuprofen, naproxen and diclofenac did not increase the risk of death from the disease [View more Coronavirus news]( Please note Due to the unprecedented nature of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic we have launched this new daily newsletter to keep you up to date with the latest official information and advice. How to opt out of these emails We are sending these daily Coronavirus email bulletins in addition to our daily newsletter emails. If you would like to opt out of only these additional Public Interest emails, and continue to receive your regular daily newsletters, please [click here](. You have received this email as you have an account on The Scotsman, published by JPIMedia Publishing Ltd. To manage your individual newsletter preferences with us, please [click here]( and log in to your account. Alternatively you can [update]( your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive from JPIMedia Publishing Ltd, or [unsubscribe]( from all future emails. JPIMedia Publishing Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales with registered number 11499982, having its registered address at 1, King Street, London, England, EC2V 8AU, United Kingdom. We will process your personal data in accordance with our [privacy policy](.