green light in low infection areas
Live
concerts with a capacity of up to 100 have been given the green light to resume
again in the areas with the lowest coronavirus infection rates in Inverness
and Stornoway are expected to host some of the first indoor gigs this month -
ending a long hiatus triggered when the country's live events sector was put
into total shutdown in March.
Venues
in Level One areas are now allowed to stage shows as long as crowds are seated,
strict social distancing is enforced, and track and trace measures in place#
Some
venues will be able to stage shows with a capacity of up to 250 if they are
able to accommodate two metre social distancing if the area they are in moves
up to Level One.
Among
the first gigs to go ahead will be a show by folk-rock group Torridon this
Saturday at the Ironworks, an Inverness venue which has two other shows lined
up over the next few weeks.
Lewis
singer-songwriter Colin MacLeod is due to play two show at the An Lanntair arts
centre in Stornoway next week.
New
guidance published by the Scottish Government states: “Performing arts venues
are permitted to open where audience members have allocated seats (either
physical seats or marked areas of the ground within which households must sit)
and with restricted numbers, two metre physical distancing and hygiene measures
in place.
