Town Hall will be closed to the public as of Tuesday, January 4, 2022 and until further notice. Staff not in isolation or quarantine will continue to work during our normal hours, and will be available by phone and email. Entry will be available by appointment, but please limit requests to urgent business.
This closure is in response to recent data: the very high rate of positive covid tests, the infectiousness of the omicron variant, which now accounts for more than half of infections, the increased load on our hospitals and health care providers, and the relatively low vaccination rate in Scotland. The omicron variant does appear to be less virulent than earlier forms of covid, but it is infecting more people more quickly, and those who are not vaccinated are still at risk of serious illness. (Vaccinated people, especially those with a booster, are less at risk of both infection and severe illness, but are not immune.) Taken together, these factors make closure the most prudent course. We will reopen as soon as the data indicate that we can do so safely.
This closure is in response to recent data: the very high rate of positive covid tests, the infectiousness of the omicron variant, which now accounts for more than half of infections, the increased load on our hospitals and health care providers, and the relatively low vaccination rate in Scotland. The omicron variant does appear to be less virulent than earlier forms of covid, but it is infecting more people more quickly, and those who are not vaccinated are still at risk of serious illness. (Vaccinated people, especially those with a booster, are less at risk of both infection and severe illness, but are not immune.) Taken together, these factors make closure the most prudent course. We will reopen as soon as the data indicate that we can do so safely.