Nicola Sturgeon to announce whether Covid restrictions in Scotland will change next week

The First Minister is going to confirm whether plans to lower Scotland's coronavirus restrictions to Level 0 will go ahead as planned on Monday.

Nicola Sturgeon says the decision on what happens after July 19, depends on the latest case numbers, hospital admissions and the vaccination rollout.

Level 0 would reduce the two-metre distancing rule to one metre in indoor public spaces.

Indoor gathering restrictions would be further lifted to allow up to eight people from up to four households to meet.

Read the full list of Level 0 restrictions here.

Nightclubs will stay closed until at least August

The 11pm closure time for pubs operating indoors will also be scrapped, with local licensing conditions applying instead.

But nightclubs and adult entertainment will have to remain shut.

Paul Banham manages The Shed in Glasgow and told Clyde 1 News he's worried they'll lose business: "People will go between Scotland and England. They will be going to nightclubs and the type of venues which will still be closed in Scotland.

"You have to allow a free society to operate, and people have to make personal decisions and take responsibility.

"Businesses have to plan stock and rotas. All these things directly impact our lives and how we can let the customers know what to expect

"If we were to find ourselves still hindered in how we operate compared to the rest of the UK I would disappointed, upset and frankly I wouldn't understand."

Scottish vaccine milestone

July 19 is expected to be the date when all Scottish adults will have been offered their first vaccine dose as well as being three weeks on from over-50s being double jabbed.

The Scottish Parliament has been recalled from the summer recess for Ms Sturgeon's announcement.

Last week she stressed that any additional lifting of coronavirus rules would require "care and caution'' due to the record number of coronavirus cases in Scotland.

On Monday, the latest Covid-19 statistics showed 2,134 coronavirus cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, but no deaths.

A total of 469 people were in hospital on Sunday with recently confirmed Covid-19, up 24 on the previous day, with 40 patients in intensive care.

Expert confident of Level 0 change

Public health expert Professor Linda Bauld from Edinburgh University says she expects the changes to go ahead.

"We have seen a levelling off in the number of cases over the last week," she told Clyde 1. "Ten days ago we were up at 4000 cases a day and it's now significantly lower than that.

"There are more people in hospital that we would wish, and that will continue because of the lag, but that should level off as well.

"The changes are not that significant. The big opening up for must of the country came when non-essential retail opened up and we were able to visit each other in our homes."

Hear the latest news on Clyde 1 on FM, DAB, smart speaker or the Rayo app.