only in pubs and restaurants and there is a limit of six people at each table. even if there is music, there will still be no dancing. that s been banned altogether in all hospitality venues. today, northern ireland has recorded its highest ever daily figure for positive coronavirus cases and also the number of covid patient in hospital is rising relatively slowly. there is rising relatively slowly. there is caution and concern but many would say a greater sense of hope than 12 months ago. for the second year in a row london s major public fireworks display has been cancelled. the plan instead is a more intimate celebration in trafalgar square, a concert for key workers and members of the public but ultimately, as case of 0micron started to tick up, the mayor decided that was too risky, so they have closed off the whole of trafalgar square to stop people from even being able to congregate here. that doesn t stop people in london and across the rest
pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels all bore the brunt of lockdown rules. despite spending millions on new safety measures to protect their customers and staff. it s just so nice to be with people again. in april, hospitality venues were able to reopen after a winter of lockdown. but they could only do so outdoors and even then there were limits on numbers and it meantjust a third of hospitality venues could trade, those that had outdoor space or a beer garden. it s nice to get together and to share what we ve been doing. it feels like forever, that we ve been able to sit down together. they re managing it quite well. you need to be out with your friends and family and do these things. - it was really challenging because you simply don t know, we did have pre bookings and people were booking in because of the social distancing space limitations but it
with people again. in april, hospitality venues were able to reopen, after a winter of lockdown. but they could only do so outdoors and, even then, there were limits on numbers. it meantjust a third of hospitality venues could trade those that had outdoor space or a beer garden. it s nice to get together and to share what we ve been doing. feels like forever that we ve been able to sit down together. they are managing it quite well. you need to be out with your friends and family and do these things. - it was really challenging because you simply don t know, we did have pre bookings and people were booking because of the social distancing space limitations, but it still meant you had a mismatch between supply and demand where you had an unpredictable number of people coming, very heavily weather dependent in the early part, april and may, where people would cancel their bookings very last minute because they could not sit outside. and crucially, it meant
in england say vaccines are weakening the link between cases and deaths. there are now far fewer fatalities per infection because so many of us are protected, a reminder why all this really matters. hugh pym: by the spring, infections were falling steadily. some hospitality venues were opening with seating outside. restrictions could be eased in gradual, cautious stages with each uk nation setting out its own road map. we re setting out on what i hope and believe is a one way road to freedom. and this journey is made possible by the pace of the vaccination programme. talk of lifting the lockdown, as if it s a flick of a switch moment, is misguided. 0ur steps, when we take them will need to be careful, gradual, incremental, and probably quite small to start with. this is a significant. package of measures.
degrees. we will speak to you again in about half an hour. let s return to our top story, and as scotland reports record daily covid cases, the first minister will give an update when the scottish parliament is recalled this afternoon. nicola sturgeon has warned that cases are likely to increase. so what is the situation in scotland so far? yesterday, provisionalfigures suggested more than 9,000 people tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hour period. there are tougher measures in place in scotland compared to england, including one metre social distancing for large events and hospitality venues, like theatres and museums. and table service is also required where alcohol is being served. we re joined now by scotland s deputy first minister, john swinney. thank you for speaking to us. some of the criticism levelled against