Scenes outside Aberdeen bars 'made first minister want to cry'

The first minister says images of crowded scenes outside bars in Aberdeen made her "want to cry".

It comes as health officials investigate 27 cases of coronavirus linked to The Hawthorn Bar in the city - although there is no suggestion that the bar or customers did anything wrong.

Stephen Flynn, MP for Aberdeen South, has now shared images appearing to show people waiting in large queues or gathering in big numbers at venues in the city over the last few days:

A bit scunnered by some of the photos appearing online from the city centre over the weekend. Covid-19 has not gone away - as is evident from the cluster linked to The Hawthorn Bar. Should act as the wake-up call some folk clearly need. pic.twitter.com/IxWeZjtmRA

— Stephen Flynn MP (@StephenFlynnSNP) August 3, 2020

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon shared Mr Flynn's tweet, saying: "Spot on from @StephenFlynnSNP - COVID remains a real and present threat to our health and wellbeing.

"Scenes like these are dangerous, and could easily result in pubs being closed again - which no one wants. We all have a responsibility here. Please, please everybody #keeptheheid."

At her daily briefing she confirmed there are 18 new cases of coronavirus, 11 of which are in the NHS Grampian area, although it is not yet known if these are linked to the cluster at the bar.

She told Original 106 there was a "delicate balance" to be found in both supporting hospitality firms, but ensuring that people are staying safe.

Addressing the images above, she said: "It is largely younger people gathering together with little or no physical distancing in place.

"I've seen pictures on social media over this weekend that, not to put too fine a point on it, made me want to cry looking at them."

It is understood one of the images was taken outside Soul Bar on Union Street.

Yesterday, it delayed opening until 6pm to carry out extra cleaning - following the outbreak at The Hawthorn Bar.

A post on its Facebook page said: "On the back of the news about another Aberdeen bar, we are taking this opportunity to do another deep clean of our premises, on top of the regular cleaning we are already conducting.

"The safety of our customers and staff is our top priority, so we hope you understand.

"We look forward to welcoming you from 6pm today, and apologise for any inconvenience caused."

Paul Clarkson from PB Devco, which runs Soul Bar, said: "We are constantly updating procedures to make sure the safety of our staff and customers is of the utmost importance.

"It’s a huge effort everyday from our team to keep customers safety at the forefront. We believe it’s one of the reasons we are even more popular than normal since reopening. 

"We do our utmost to police the queue and continually remind customers to social distance, but manhandling people apart, what can we do if they do not abide by it? We have seen examples of us not allowing entry to the venue if rules are not abided by. 

"Further changes will be implanted today to try and combat the issues that have arisen. We are adapting everyday and that has been the case since reopening. We are not looking to flaunt rules and follow all government announcements and constantly check any guideline updates."