A BAN on house visits across Scotland is “one of the options” being considered by the Scottish Government amid rising Covid cases.

The Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman also said that six months is a "more realistic" time frame for any new virus restrictions to be in place.

While stating that a final decision on new measures has not been made, Freeman said any new measures were likely to last longer than previously.

Asked where cases are being seen in Scotland, the Health Secretary said the highest prevalence is still from household to household transmission, which measures would look to address.

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Much of the west of Scotland is already facing greater restrictions than the rest of Scotland after a ban was imposed on house visits.

In an interview with the BBC, Freeman was asked whether extending this policy across the country is the sort of potential measure that could be introduced on a more permanent basis.

She said: “That’s one of the options. The bit about permanence...your listeners shouldn’t hear that as a forever. Any of the measures we put in place, we will try and give an indication about how long we think they need to be in place in order for us to to achieve the result we are trying to achieve.”

The comments come as the Times reported a warning from Downing Street that new restrictions in England could be in place for six months.

Questioned on BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme on whether the Scottish Government is considering a six-month time frame, she said: "It's a more realistic position but we have not yet made all of our decisions about the additional measures that we put in place and how long they'll be there for."

Previously, when further lockdown measures were put in place in places like Aberdeen after an outbreak, an initial length of restriction was announced, with periodic reviews to track progress.

The Scottish Government is expected to unveil a number of further coronavirus restrictions early this week after a spike in recent cases, with 245 new infections announced on Sunday, 5.4% of those who had been tested.

The Health Secretary reiterated calls made last week for the Prime Minister to call a Cobra meeting with leaders of the devolved administrations in a bid to align any measures as closely as is possible.

She added: "If that's not possible, or there isn't a Cobra meeting, the Scottish Government will make those decisions quickly and introduce them quickly."

Freeman said the imposition of restrictions was "complex" and would have effects on various parts of the economy and people's lives, adding: "But at the end of the day, our economy will be best served the better we are at controlling and curbing this virus and its transmission in communities."

The Health Secretary told the BBC on Sunday that updated restrictions to control the virus would be announced "very shortly".

Governments across the UK are considering new lockdown restrictions as a way of tackling rising coronavirus levels.

The Prime Minister will make a television statement this week on restrictions in England.