Cop26 could set off a new wave of Covid-19 infections in Scotland, a public health expert has warned.
Professor Linda Bauld, chairwoman of public health at Edinburgh University, said it will be “risky” to hold the climate change summit in Glasgow, which is expected to draw up to 30,000 people.
Due to a lack of accommodation, many guests at the UN climate change conference will stay in the homes of people living in and around the city.
The last time world leaders gathered in the UK was at the G7 meeting in Cornwall in June. That month saw a rise in Covid cases in the area, but the UK government denied the gathering was to blame.
Prof Bauld said any surge in infections after Cop26 could spread outside the city and across central Scotland.
“Yes, I am worried about a Glaswegian spike, and I’m not worried just about Glasgow. The central belt is interconnected,” she said.
“And we’re seeing declines here but we may not be able to hang on to those gains.
“We’re trying to open up and everything’s trying to operate more normally.
“Everybody’s delighted to be able to go to the cinema or a concert or have more people in their homes.
“This is hard-won progress thanks to vaccines and other things.
“But having huge mass events at the moment, I think it is risky.”
Earlier this month, the Scottish government introduced rules making vaccine certificates mandatory at mass events.
The rule applies to nightclubs, indoor seated events with more than 500 attendees, unseated outdoor events with more than 4,000 people, and any event with more than 10,000 in attendance.
Delegates at Cop26 will be exempt from the measures but will have to show a negative result from a lateral flow test each day to gain entry.
Covid figures released by the Scottish government on Thursday showed there were 29 deaths and 2,639 new cases recorded in the past 24 hours.
On Wednesday, there were a total of 908 people in Scottish hospitals, down 10 in 24 hours. Fifty of those who had tested positive for Covid were in intensive care.
“Covid-19 continues to be closely monitored by all relevant agencies and we are working with the UK Government, Public Health Scotland and our partners in Glasgow to achieve our priority of a safe and secure Cop26,” a spokeswoman for the Scottish government told The National.
“As part of the code of conduct, delegates will be asked to adhere to enhanced Covid measures in the Cop26 Blue Zone, such as one-metre physical distancing and the wearing of face masks unless seated.
“All other national and local restrictions will continue to apply outside the Blue Zone.”
Queen Elizabeth II and senior members of the royal family will attend the summit, Buckingham Palace announced this week.
One of the principal aims of Cop26, which will run from October 31 to November 12, is to accelerate the ways and means of achieving the Paris Climate Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
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The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
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Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
