South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has said he’s ‘confident’ Dumfries and Galloway will be moved to level 1 restrictions when the First Minister announces her weekly review of restrictions on Tuesday but warned that failure of the Government to do so would damage the fight against COVID-19 by undermining public confidence in the tier system.

The Scottish Government’s Covid-19 figures have revealed that weekly cases in Dumfries and Galloway have fallen by almost 70 per cent since the region was placed in level 2.

The current (December 3) prevalence rate is 22.8 per 100,000, the lowest of any Level 2 area, less than a quarter of the national average of 100.3.

Colin Smyth said: “People across our region have worked very hard to follow the ever-changing rules over the past couple of months and the most recent Covid figures indicate that their vigilance has paid off.

“I am confident that in the weekly review of restrictions on Tuesday, the First Minister will announce that Dumfries and Galloway will move to level 1 and about time too.

“The change will be weeks overdue, and while everyone recognises that this virus is still dangerous, and we must all remain vigilant until we can all receive a vaccination, unless the government follows its own guidelines, people will quickly lose faith in them.

“The argument that our proximity to areas with high levels of Covid-19 such as Lanarkshire and Ayrshire put our region at risk of an increase in cases has thankfully proved to be unfounded.

“A move to level 1 would also be extremely welcome to our hard-pressed hospitality sector, who have suffered terribly since the start of the pandemic.”