Nicola Sturgeon to tell us where Scotland goes with Covid now
The First Minister sets out a new strategic framework for coronavirus
Nicola Sturgeon will be setting out the Scottish Government's strategic framework for dealing with coronavirus following the decision of the UK Government to end all legal restrictions in England and cut back on testing.
MSPs in the Scottish Parliament will hear the First Minister explain the thinking behind the blueprint for managing and recovering from Covid-19.
When she updated MSPs on the pandemic earlier this month, she said Scotland was "through the worst" of the Omicron wave and the situation was "much more positive" than at the start of the year.
On Monday, Ms Sturgeon said it would be "unacceptable" for public health decisions of the devolved administrations to be impacted by funding decisions taken by the UK Government.
Sturgeon cautious on future restrictions
During a visit to the Social Bite cafe in Edinburgh, the First Minister was asked if she was considering automatic trigger points for new restrictions.
She said: "In terms of fixed automatic trigger points - we need to be a bit cautious about that.
"Because we know that, if we look at the risks we may face in the future in the form of new variants for example, not all variants have the same impact."
She continued: "You need to have attention to data, to evidence.
"But inevitably, there will have to be judgment applied in any given situation about the actual severity of the threat that any new risk might pose."
"Trust the public" - say Scottish Tories
Ahead of the announcement, Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane called on the government to adopt policies from his party's paper entitled Back To Normality.
He said: "We must see Nicola Sturgeon outline a detailed roadmap out of the pandemic, with a greater emphasis put on trusting the public to act responsibly.
"I'm pleased the First Minister belatedly followed the advice of experts and announced that pupils will no longer have to wear facemasks in classrooms from the end of the month.
"With the data on the virus being much more encouraging, we have to move away from blanket restrictions and instead trust the public to do the right thing."
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Concern from vulnerable Scots
Kirsty Mills, from Nairn, was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis and liver cirrhosis around ten years ago
Due to the medication she takes, she is one of thousands who are "immunocompromised", meaning she has a weaker immune system.
Kirsty says there are fears among those who are also clinically vulnerable about Boris Johnson’s announcement.
She said: “It’s maybe, not the right time to completely do away with all the restrictions.
“For the majority of people that don’t have the health conditions that I have, there is that want to get back to normality, but it seems to me a little bit rash to be doing away with isolation if you are positive and to do away with masks entirely.
“I know a lot of people who do have liver conditions, in similar situations to me and live in more densely populated areas or down south are genuinely very anxious.”
PM going too far says Long Covid patient
Callum O’Dwyer, from Aberdeen has been suffering with long covid since contracting the virus in March 2020.
Callum feels the Prime Minister has gone too far with the easing of regulations.
He said: “It means that yet more of the defences we’ve built up and we’ve learnt to build up in order for us to live with the virus are being eroded.
“Having a more successful chance for us to live with this virus, is to be alert to it and not let down our guard altogether.
“Over a million people in the UK are experiencing long covid, I think that should be at the forefront of our thoughts in dealing with this virus long-term.