First Minister to announce outcome of latest lockdown review
Nicola Sturgeon is to reveal if Scotland will reduce the number of people who can meet in groups as part of efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Last updated 10th Sep 2020
The First Minister will formally announce the latest review of lockdown restrictions north of the border to the Scottish Parliament on Thursday.
With Prime Minister Boris Johnson having announced that people in England "must not meet socially in groups of more than six'' from Monday, with cases of Covid-19 currently rising in Scotland, Ms Sturgeon had already warned that her latest review is "likely to take a very cautious approach''.
Speaking on Wednesday, she said: "We can't rule out the need to make changes to the number of people allowed to gather together like those that were announced for England.
"We're carefully reviewing existing guidance and regulation, as well as considering what new steps may be necessary to keep Covid under control.''
Her comments came after figures showed the average number of cases being reported over the past seven days had increased to 155 a day, up from 52 a day three weeks ago.
In Scotland the current advice is that no more than eight people, from three different households, can meet indoors - whereas up to 15 people from five households can meet up outside.
At her last review of lockdown, Ms Sturgeon had indicated that sports stadia and some other venues that have remained closed may be able to reopen again from September 14.
But she has warned this week that it may not be possible to proceed with some relaxations, given the rise in case numbers.
The First Minister also urged people to download the new confidential coronavirus contact tracing app which has now gone live.
It aims to allow tracing of a wider range of contacts by using mobile phones to detect who has been in close proximity with a positive case.
Ms Sturgeon tweeted on Thursday: "There's a new way to help fight Covid in Scotland. 'Protect Scotland' - our confidential contact tracing app - will anonymously notify app users you've been in close contact with, should you test positive.
"Please download, and let's all protect Scotland.''
She said more than 100,000 people had downloaded the app by 10.30am on Thursday.
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