The deputy first minister has warned the Covid-19 situation in Scotland is “precarious and unpredictable” with restrictions being considered.
John Swinney has told MSPs in Holyrood that the Scottish Government fears a number of scenarios if coronavirus cases continue to rise from their current high level.
But Mr Swinney says while he is “not yet able to predict with confidence” what will happen next, he would prefer to avoid a lockdown similar to the one imposed before the vaccine roll-out.
Warning that cases are currently at a “concerningly high level”, Mr Swinney says it is expected that figures will rise over the Christmas period with people spending more time inside.
We certainly want to avoid the sort of strict lockdown we [saw] before most of us were vaccinated
John Swinney
He said: “There are some specific reasons to suspect case numbers will increase.
“We certainly want to avoid the sort of strict lockdown we [saw] before most of us were vaccinated.
“We do not want to repeat the sort of disruption to our daily lives, businesses and economy that had been required at earlier stages.
“It is because we want to avoid more difficult restrictions that we cannot rule out strengthening the baseline protective measures currently in place.”
He says the government is considering the need to extend the Covid passport scheme, such as in indoor hospitality settings.
Changes to extend home working and the use of face coverings are also under consideration.
Review of Covid measures due next week
He says a review of the protective measures is due next week, with the government ready to respond to the data.
Mr Swinney warned: “Now is not the time to relax our approach.”
He has also given an update on the latest statistics, which show more than 2,000 new cases have been recorded.
A further 20 coronavirus-related deaths have also been recorded in the latest 24-hour period.
It means the death toll under this daily measure – among people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – is 9,313.
The new deaths include one in Dundee and one in Fife in the last 24 hours.
The national daily test positivity rate is 12%, up from 11% the previous day.
Drop in hospital patients with Covid-19
There were 753 people in hospital on Monday with recently confirmed Covid-19, down 50 on the day before, with 57 in intensive care, up three.
So far 4,324,440 people have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccination and 3,918,528 have received a second dose.
Coronavirus in Scotland – track the spread with these charts