A decision on whether Scotland will require even stricter lockdown measures to tackle the spread of Covid-19 is yet to be made – with an update expected on Wednesday.
Speaking at the daily coronavirus briefing in Edinburgh on Tuesday morning, Nicola Sturgeon said an announcement on any potential further restrictions will be made in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday.
Ministers are yet to decide whether the country’s pandemic rules will need to be tightened even further, with businesses operating click-and-collect services and takeaways among those that could be hit by tougher measures.
The Scottish cabinet met to discuss the issue on Tuesday morning, however Ms Sturgeon said a decision is yet to be reached.
Ministers are due to continue discussions throughout Tuesday.
The First Minister said: “I have just earlier this morning chaired the weekly meeting of the Scottish cabinet.
“As I indicated yesterday one of the things we discussed was whether there any areas – takeaway, click-and-collect services being two examples – where we think there is a further need to tighten restrictions, to reduce the occasions and reasons for people to be out of their homes at the moment.
“We are continuing to consider these options a little bit further and I can tell you that I will update parliament tomorrow on any decisions that we reach over the course of the day.”
Last week Ms Sturgeon warned even tougher measures may be needed to keep coronavirus from spreading further out of control, amid concerns over the number of people still using the country’s road and public transport networks.
It comes as a further 1,875 Covid-19 cases were recorded in Scotland in the past day, with a further 54 deaths linked to the disease registered.
A total of 1,717 people are in hospital battling the virus, 133 of them in intensive care.
‘Lockdown 2’
Scotland entered a second lockdown on January 4 in response to the rapid spread of a new strain of coronavirus.
Since then case number and Covid-19 deaths in Scotland surged to their highest ever levels.
The measures put in place in early January were the strictest since the measures taken in response to the initial outbreak in spring 2020.
Schools have been closed to all but a handful of pupils, with strict travel measures and a legally enforceable “stay at home” rule put in place.
