Nicola Sturgeon covid update RECAP: Hogmanay cancelled | Football crowd cap | Rishi Sunak hospitality funding
and live on Freeview channel 276
The First Minister will address MSPs in the Scottish Parliament on any potential new restrictions that could be implemented due to fears over the new Omicron variant.
She is due to make her statement at about 2.20pm.
You can follow live updates in our blog, right now.
Nicola Sturgeon Omicron update RECAP: First Minister to update Scotland on Covid rules as cases remain high
“Let me now set out the steps we must take.
“Firstly, we are not changing the advice for Christmas that I set out last week.
“It is important that with just a few days to go, there is certainty about family gatherings on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
“I am not asking anyone to change these.
“However - and I cannot stress this enough - please follow advice to keep family celebrations as safe as possible.
“Keep gatherings as small as family circumstances allow.”
“Some ask why we can’t wait until we have more data and know exactly the impact Omicron will have on the NHS.
“I understand the temptation to delay; to hope, after two long years of this, that further steps might not be necessary.
“But, firstly, as I said a moment ago - we are already seeing a significant impact from staff absences across the economy and public services. We must do what we can to stem this.
“And secondly, we know from experience that if we wait until the data tells us conclusively that we have a problem with hospital admissions, it is already too late to avoid the problem.
“We must act quickly - in so far as we are able given our financial constraints - and get ahead of the data if we can.”
“So this is why we must act.
“And let me be clear again - this is not a choice between protecting health and protecting the economy.
“If we don’t stem the spread of the virus, both health and the economy will suffer.”
“In addition to that, if large numbers of people become infected - even mildly - the impact on the economy and critical services through sickness and isolation absences will be crippling.”
“Firstly, the toll that a rising wave of infections will have on health and the NHS is considerable.
“We don’t yet know if the proportion of Omicron cases needing hospital care will be lower, higher or the same as with Delta. However, there is still no compelling evidence that Omicron is intrinsically milder than previous strains.”
“However, as the booster roll-out is completed - and bearing in mind that it takes around a week for immune protection to take effect in individuals - we must also act to slow down the spread of cases.
“I want to explain why that is vital.”
“It is currently spreading rapidly across Scotland, and so the steep increase in infections that was predicted last week has now started to materialise.
“Cases increased by more than 50% in the past week - from over 3,500 a day to almost 5,500 a day.”
“First, though, today’s statistics.
“5,242 positive cases were reported yesterday – 14.9% of all tests carried out.
“515 people are in hospital with Covid – 1 fewer than yesterday.
“37 people are in intensive care, which is 1 fewer than yesterday.
“Sadly, a further 9 deaths have been reported, taking the total number of deaths under the daily definition to 9,790.
“I want again to send my condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one.”
The First Minister begins her statement:
“I will again appeal to everyone across the country to reduce contacts and stay at home as much as possible in the run up to Christmas Day, and then again after this Christmas weekend, and also reiterate the steps we can all take to make family celebrations this weekend as safe as possible.
“I will also confirm Cabinet’s decision to propose some additional protections in relation to large scale events and indoor public places..
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.