NICOLA Sturgeon has confirmed a further 101 coronavirus cases have been identified in Scotland over the last 24 hours.

The First Minister said at the Scottish Government daily briefing that this represents 1.1% of people newly tested yesterday.

Sturgeon revealed the provisional information shows 53 of the new cases are in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area, where new restrictions are in place.

People in the area should not go into others’ homes. The measure is in place for the next two weeks but could be extended if necessary.

Sturgeon said there has been a further death of someone who has tested positive for Covid-19, but explained this death occurred in August and is only being reported now.

Speaking at the briefing, the First Minister also said Scotland’s R number could be as high as 1.4. This represents the number of people each person with Covid-19 passes the virus onto.

The SNP leader has said the figure is less important when the prevalence of the virus is low, but is still a “further reminder the virus is spreading here”.

The First Minister went on to address the reasons behind the Glasgow restrictions.

"In Aberdeen, it was identified the outbreak there had started in pubs but also a risk of wider community transmission,” she told viewers. “We took the decision driven by our understanding of what was happening in Aberdeen. While that was tough, it has been effective.

"In the last couple of weeks, the rise in new cases has been pronounced in Greater Glasgow and we introduced restrictions on household gatherings. What Test and Protect has told us this time is that cases are not linked to any big identifiable outbreak and instead associated with multiple smaller, unconnected household clusters.

“It was that analysis that led us to take some action. Doing nothing was not an option. The information coming through Test and Protect guided us.

"In short, what I am trying to set out is we can be much more targeted and proportionate other than a blanket lockdown."  However, Sturgeon stressed that the Test and Protect system is a “firefighting” action and should be considered the second line of defence against the virus.

She said all of us, no matter where we live, “have to be more careful” with following social distancing guidelines to limit the spread of the virus.