Scotland eases Omicron restrictions on indoor settings
Amateur indoor contact sports can resume, nightclubs can re-open and table service is no longer required in hospitality
The Covid restrictions put in place to stem the spread of the Omicron variant in Scotland have been eased.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed the changes last week, which take effect from today (24th January).
Table service and one metre social distancing in hospitality are no longer required with attendance limits at indoor events being removed.
Nightclubs can also re-open with the Covid vaccine passport scheme not currently being extended.
However, the Scottish Government say regulations will be updated to ensure venues cannot avoid the scheme by putting tables on dancefloors whilst still allowing dancing.
Indoor contact sport restarts
Non-professional indoor contact sports can also resume, meaning boxing clubs across the country can welcome back amateurs.
Inverness City Boxing Club Head Coach Laurie Redfern is hoping there will be no more restrictions in the future.
He said: "For the last couple of years, amateur boxing has been stopping, starting and stopping.
"It has been quite a hard time, we've never experienced it in my lifetime.
"It has been pretty hard going.
"Looks like we're going to get going, and not stopping again. I had a show planned for last Friday and it got cancelled.
"I had booked that months ago."
Laurie has been kept busy though, as he currently has three pro boxers training for a huge fight in Inverness on 5th March.
Professional athletes have been allowed to keep training during the latest round of restrictions.
Laurie added: "We've managed to get through it and we're looking forward to the boys having their first professional bout.
"We didn't know how long that was going to take.
"I'm as excited for it as they are, but I can't let them see it, I've got to make it out it's nothing to me."
Laurie also says keeping the boxing club open is a huge boost for the local community.
He said: "The kids love it and I love training them, I get a lot of satisfaction out of that.
"I was a kid myself so I know what they're looking for so I try and give them that."
"A hopeful day" - Prof Jason Leitch
Scotland's National Clinical Director, Professor Jason Leitch told Hits Radio News: "It feels like a hopeful day, a day where we've been able to respond to falling numbers as a result of the behaviour of Scots and the vaccination programme
"Numbers now look as if they're falling. They're not nothing - they're still significant - and we still have around 1500 people in hospital, and we still have too many infections which is why the baseline mitigations like face masks and working from home are still in place.
"You would expect the public health advisor to say 'be careful and don't go crazy', take it easy and keep those basic measures to protect you and the people around us who are more vulnerable.
Don't rip the plaster off
"Days like this for the public health advisors are a mixed blessing.
They're hopeful because I want to go to indoor events, see my family more and go out to dinner, but I want it to be a smooth exit for all of us so we're not going back and forward.
"I think Scotland has taken the right path to open gradually. Ripping the plaster off in one go doesn't work well with this virus, you get another blip of cases.
"Doing it more slowly that some in the public would like will, in the end, serve us well."