Glasgow city moving to level 2 of restrictions this weekend
From 12.01am on Saturday morning the restrictions will be eased.
Glasgow city will move to level 2 of coronavirus restrictions from one minute past midnight on Saturday morning.
The area has been the only one in Scotland in the third level while restrictions elsewhere in the country have began to ease.
The change means licensed premises can serve alcohol indoors, cinemas can reopen and we can meet indoors in groups of six from three households.
We also don't need to socially distance from our friends or family in a private homes, which we are now permitted to travel to anywhere in the country.
Cinemas, theatres, amusement arcades. snooker halls and bowling alleys are able to reopen. Adult outdoor contact sports, personal training and coaching are allowed and indoor group exercises can resume - but indoor contact sport is not allowed.
Restrictions on outdoor meeting are eased as well, with eight adults from upto eight different households allowed to meet up. Children don't need to be counted for in this aspect.
Nicola Sturgeon announced the easing in Glasgow at Holyrood this afternoon and said: "The picture across the country isn't uniform and we don't need to apply a one size fits all approach, however, a variable system also has it's downsides and it's not without risk.
"The situation in Glasgow appears to be stabilising and this remains the case. Numbers are falling and this provides further evidence that interventions are having an impact. Although hospital admissions are rising, the vaccination effect mean these aren't happening as quickly as they might have done earlier in the year.
"It's now more than eight months since we were allowed to visit each other in our homes.
"Taking everything into account, Glasgow city will move into level 2 from midnight on Friday into Saturday.
"This means people will be able to meet indoors, indoor hospitality can reopen and people can travel to other parts of Scotland."
"We remain on the right track overall and I remain confident that with the correct decisions now, we'll have greater normality into the summer and beyond.
The First Minister continued: "At this critical stage, we must err on the side of caution. The downside is the Indian or April-02 variant, renamed as Delta by the WHO. It's faster spreading and we believe it counts for more than half of our daily cases in Scotland.
"Our R number is higher than one and our situation is precarious. The WHO is warning we could, and I stress could, be at the start of a third wave.
"Our significant advantage is that we're increasingly confident the vaccine is effective and the emerging evidence gives us reason to believe we'll be able to deal with the virus less restrictively.
"A sizeable portion of the population aren't yet fully vaccinated, it's after two doses that the protection becomes much stronger. This means we could still see a significant burden of death and stress on our NHS."