THE Scottish Government is “carefully considering” nationwide restrictions to suppress coronavirus, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The First Minister warned that lockdown measures may be reimposed across the country as she revealed the infection rate had risen once again.

Another 290 cases were confirmed in the daily update, with the R number – the number of people who will be infected by one infectious person – now said to be as high as 1.4.

Strict rules on meeting indoors have been introduced in Greater Glasgow and Lanarkshire, where 164 of the new cases were recorded. 

READ MORE: Coronavirus in Scotland: Nicola Sturgeon confirms another 290 cases

But the FM said ministers were not ruling out further restrictions across the rest of the country.

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, she said: “Of course we hope the new rules which came into effect on Monday will help to reduce transmission and we will of course monitor this very carefully.

“We are also considering whether any further restrictions may be necessary either for all or part of the country.”

Of the new cases, 112 were in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 52 in Lanarkshire and 47 in Lothian. The 79 other cases were spread across nine other health boards

Earlier this week, the First Minister did not rule out the introduction of a curfew – which would force pubs and restaurants to shut early.

Sturgeon also informed MSPs that Scotland’s contact tracing app has been downloaded by a million users, with more than 100 told to self-isolate as a result.

The First Minister said the figures show the Protect Scotland app can be effective, and urged others to install it.

She told the Parliament: "In the week since it was launched, more than one million people have downloaded the Protect Scotland app and I want to thank everyone that has done so.

"One million is already a big enough number for us to know that the app can make a difference. In fact, I can report that more than 100 people have been advised to isolate as a result of using it.

"I would encourage everyone that hasn't yet done so to download it.

"This is a simple – and it is simple – but it's also an important way in which we can fight Covid-19."

Protect Scotland became freely available to download on to smartphones on September 10.

It tells people if they have been in close contact with someone who later tested positive for coronavirus.