Not asking people to cancel Christmas - Sturgeon

1. Scotland's first minister wants to slow down the spread of the Omicron variant - which now accounts for 27.5% of Scotland's cases - while the booster vaccine programme is being ramped up
2. Nicola Sturgeon's statement outlines new guidelines on social contact which includes asking for no more than three households to meet in social settings
3. She adds that she will not limit numbers on Christmas day - but guidance will be issued to "make Christmas safer"
4. Over 18s in Scotland will be able to book their booster jabs from tomorrow but Scotland's FM concedes that "not everyone will have been vaccinated by the end of December"
5. Ms Sturgeon ends her statement: "Please follow the new advice I have outlined today. Although it is guidance, please do not think of it as optional."
6. The UK government has announced more funding to each of the devolved nations "to progress their vaccine rollout"
7. Opposition parties question the Scottish government's ability to deliver the booster programme

What did we learn from the first minister's latest update?

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It has been a hectic afternoon and early evening as Nicola Sturgeon outlined her plans to tackle the latest wave of coronavirus in Scotland.

But what did we we learn from her statement to parliament and what new guidelines are in place?

• The first minister asked people in Scotland to limit socialising to three households at a time in the run-up to Christmas
• The limit does not apply to people's main Christmas celebration
• It comes after a large jump in Omicron cases, which are estimated to make up 27.5% of all cases in Scotland
• Social distancing measures will be a legal requirement for businesses and different sectors will have different guidance
• The Scottish government has made £100m available to support businesses with Omicron mitigations while another £100m will be used to support people self isolating
• The Treasury has also confirmed more money will be made available to devolved administrations to help deal with the pandemic
• A target for getting all over-18s boosted has been set for the end of January
• Opposition parties have raised concerns over the impact new advice will have on businesses and have urged the Scottish government to make support funds available in time for Christmas.

That's it for our live page coverage of events today. Thanks for joining us.

Can you still drink at the bar in a pub?

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Mr Swinney is asked if people would still be allowed to stand up and drink at bars when the new rules come into force on Saturday.

The deputy first minister says he expects people will "exercise the type of caution they are familiar with already".

Mr Swinney says it is all about "sensible steps in the short term" to allow hospitality businesses to stay open and keep people safe.

No plans to axe large-scale football matches, says Swinney

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Deputy first minister John Swinney says there are no current plans to make changes to big sporting events.

In the coming weeks, Scotland has a number of large football matches coming up including the League Cup final this weekend and the Celtic v Rangers derby on 2 January.

But Mr Swinney told Drivetime there are no plans to make changes to these “at this stage” and added “I would hope for them not be under scrutiny”.

The deputy first minister says spectators will need to “exercise extra care” and adds there will be dialogue with clubs to ensure appropriate social distancing measures are in place for people entering and leaving stadia.

100 more troops to boost vaccine rollout in Scotland

PA Media

The UK government says an extra 100 Armed Forces personnel are being made available to accelerate the vaccine rollout in Scotland.

That is on top of the 121 personnel who have been supporting the vaccine programme since early October.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “Our Armed Forces continue to tirelessly support the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Scotland to give people and communities vital protection against this virus.

“This uplift in support will help to get more vaccines into arms faster, working shoulder to shoulder with the dedicated health services.”

The toughest rules anywhere in the UK - but questions remain

Glenn Campbell

BBC Scotland Political Editor

This package of new rules for business and strong guidance to all of us to cut back on social contact is the toughest anywhere in the UK.

Nicola Sturgeon argues that however unwelcome, it is necessary to help slow down the spread of Omicron while booster vaccines are speeded up.

Unlike the political row over Plan B for England, these new measures for Scotland do not face fierce resistance from the Conservatives or other opposition parties at Holyrood.

Instead, they question the detailed arrangements for getting financial support to businesses and accelerating the delivery of Covid jabs.

Ms Sturgeon said she would have tightened hospitality rules further with financial support from the Treasury - support that has now been announced.

While rules on social distancing and other measures for retail and hospitality will be backed up by regulations, the request for reduced social mixing is not.

The first minister said that did not make it optional. But it is not without contradiction.

How, for instance, do you avoid contact with people from many households if you go to nightclubs which remain open for business?

Lady Poole to chair Scottish Covid-19 inquiry

Judges Scotland

Lady Poole

Deputy first minister John Swinney announces the Scottish Covid-19 inquiry will be chaired by Lady Poole.

The public inquiry will investigate a number of areas including:

• Lockdown decisions
• Delivery of PPE
• Testing and vaccines
• Infection prevention in care homes and transfer of hospital patients
• Delivery of education in lockdown

Mr Swinney is due to appear on BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime shortly.

Are we back to restrictions on weddings and funerals?

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We have had a lot of questions about the potential impact of Omicron on major life events.

During the pandemic, both weddings and funerals were hit hard by restrictions on guest and mourner numbers.

But the legal requirement for physical distancing and limits on gatherings were removed on 9 August.

Despite the concerns over the new variant, there has been no change to the current guidance.

It states: "There are no limits on the number of people who can attend weddings, civil partnerships and funerals. This is also the case for other life events such as christenings, anniversary celebrations, bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs."

Should large-scale football matches be cancelled?

Drivetime with John Beattie

BBC Radio Scotland

BBC

Scotland has a number of large football matches coming up including the League Cup final this weekend and the Celtic v Rangers derby on 2 January.

Dr Sandesh Gulhane, from the Scottish Conservatives, tells Drivetime that we need to have "sensible precautions" in place around such football matches.

He says: "My feeling would be we need to look very carefully at that and possibly, possibly, may need to cancel that."

However, he adds that he hopes the Scottish government has done modelling around such events and decided on whether it is the "correct thing to do" - although he points out this data was not supplied in a recent evidence paper.

'No need for further restrictions right now' say Tories

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The debate around restrictions and whether they go far enough is, understandably, a hot topic.

Tory MSP and part-time GP Sandesh Gulhane says the measures announced today will suffice for this phase of the battle against Omicron.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime, Dr Gulhane says, "at the moment I don’t think we need further restrictions" but adds the key is speeding up the booster jab rollout.

Dr Gulhane welcomes the move to open more large-scale vaccination centres but adds this should have been done earlier.

The daily Covid figures

Just to recap on the latest statistics around Covid in Scotland...

There were 3,117 new cases of Covid-19 reported in the past 24 hours - and six new reported deaths of people who had tested positive.

The number of Omicron cases confirmed in Scotland was 110, taking the total to 296, according to data released by the Scottish government.

The S gene dropout - a good indication of Omicron levels - is currently present in 27.5% of cases

541 people are in hospital - 20 fewer than yesterday - but the figure now includes two confirmed Omicron cases.

38 people are in intensive care - down one

Will more funding mean more restrictions?

Drivetime with John Beattie

BBC Radio Scotland

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton tells Drivetime that he believes the Scottish government wants to go further in tightening hospitality restrictions.

He says he doesn't necessarily believe things like theatre productions should be cancelled unless there is "pound for pound" compensation.

I rather suspect that we might be called back to Parliament in the coming days when the quantum of money from the UK government becomes apparent. I felt that there was a will in the Scottish government to go further in tightening regulations on hospitality. If the Omicron surge is so severe that we should restrict our domestic socialising to just three households, it’s a hard message to sell that it’s ok to go on to see the ballet or the panto.

Alex Cole-HamiltonScottish Liberal Democrat leader

'A little breathing space' for the hospitality trade

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A body representing part of Scotland's hospitality sector welcomes the £100m extra support for businesses affected by recent Covid announcements.

Stephen Montgomery, of The Scottish Hospitality Group, says December is a "critically important trading month" for hospitality and warns without support that "many venues will struggle to survive".

He adds, "We therefore welcome the Scottish government's commitment to £100m of financial support for hospitality.

"Today's funding will provide a little breathing space in the short term - but it is clear the hospitality sector will require much more support if we are to save venues from going to the wall."

More reaction to the latest Covid changes on BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime programme now.

Business funding is 'drop in the ocean' for struggling venues

chester hotel

As we have been reporting, the Scottish business community has been giving an - at best - lukewarm reception to the first minister's announcements.

Leon Thompson, the Scotland director for UK Hospitality, tells BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime with John Beattie that the £100m fund for businesses is a "drop in the ocean" for those that are already struggling.

Last week the BBC told how the Chester Hotel in Aberdeen had 900 cancellations within 48 hours.

Mr Thompson says there needs to be further conversations about the guidance and there will be a "lot of questions" as to how things work.

It is still not clear when the latest social distancing rules for hospitality businesses will begin, however Mr Thompson says further talks are taking place tomorrow.

Sturgeon says Treasury funding to devolved nations 'not additional'

Shortly before Ms Sturgeon started speaking to the Scottish Parliament earlier this afternnon, the UK Treasury said it would make extra funding available to devolved governments to accelerate the vaccine rollout and tackle the virus.

However, the first minister later tweeted she believes the money is "not additional" to funding already allocated through Barnett consequentials.

Support for businesses 'will not go anywhere near far enough'

Magnus Bennett

BBC Scotland News

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The Scottish Chambers of Commerce says there will be some disappointment among Scotland’s business community at new measures announced by the first minister to tackle the Omicron variant.

It has welcomed the £100m of targeted support being made available for the hospitality, wholesale and supply chain sectors but says “it will not go anywhere near far enough to cover the financial losses being incurred”.

Chief executive Liz Cameron adds: “What Scotland’s businesses need now is an extension of at least the 50% Covid-19 rates relief, beyond the three months set out in the Scottish budget and guaranteed for the next financial year, in full.

“With these additional restrictions now in place, extended rates relief will be critical to giving thousands of Scottish businesses a shot at survival.”

Surge in demand for lateral flow tests

The push to get people to test more regularly has meant increased demand for lateral flow kits in some areas.

The UK government website where people can order the kits to be posted out to them has struggled to keep up with demand at times.

And some pharmacies in Scotland do not have any kits in stock.

A spokesman for trade body Community Pharmacy Scotland confirmed its members are seeing increased demand.

BBC

This pharmacy in Edinburgh is among many to have run out of lateral flow test kits

Scottish and UK governments 'must co-operate' to help small businesses

The range of new restrictions will make trading much more difficult, according to Scotland's Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

Policy chair Andrew McRae welcomes the news of the £100m support fund from the Scottish government, but says independent retailers have already reported fewer customers.

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The money must reach firms as quickly as possible, especially since the new household mixing rules are bound to cause another surge in cancellations. Governments in Edinburgh and London must co-operate to ensure the amount of cash support available to firms matches the scale of the restrictions. The financial firepower to help firms during this stage of the crisis must be found."

Andrew McRaeFederation of Small Businesses

UK government says 'support of all nations will continue'

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Following the Treasury's confirmation of further funding support, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack says we need to do "everything possible" to get boosters rolled out quickly.

He adds that the UK government has provided "unprecedented support" in all parts of the UK since the start of the pandemic and that support will continue.

What we learned from the first minister's statement

• The first minister asked people in Scotland to limit socialising to three households at a time in the run-up to Christmas
• The limit does not apply to people's main Christmas celebration
• It comes after a large jump in Omicron cases, which are estimated to make up 27.5% of all cases in Scotland

• Social distancing measures will be a legal requirement for businesses and different sectors will have different guidance
• The Scottish government has made £100m available to support businesses with Omicron mitigations while another £100m will be used to support people self isolating
• The Treasury has also confirmed more money will be made available to devolved administrations to help deal with the pandemic

• A target for getting all over 18s boosted has been set for the end of January
• Opposition parties have raised concerns over the impact new advice will have on businesses and have urged the Scottish government to make support funds available in time for Christmas.

How will the latest guidelines affect gigs and bigger events?

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Despite the fears over Omicron no fresh mandatory restrictions have been announced for concerts and major events, such as football matches.

Under the vaccine passport scheme which was introduced in October, anyone over the age of 18 must show proof - if asked - that they have had both doses of the vaccine before they are allowed entry to:

• Nightclubs and adult entertainment venues
• Unseated indoor live events with more than 500 people in the audience
• Unseated outdoor live events for more than 4,000 people
• Any event, of any nature, attended by more than 10,000 people

Proof of a negative lateral flow device test will also now be accepted.

The first minister also repeated her call for people to test regularly in a bid to stop the spread.