NICOLA Sturgeon has indicated tighter restrictions in the future to contain the spread of the coronavirus in Scotland are not inevitable.

The First Minister was speaking at her daily update on the pandemic following the first weekend after the start of a "circuit breaker" lockdown.

Asked about whether the country would see tighter measures introduced later, she said the government had sought by bringing in new restrictions "quickly" to prevent long lasting or tighter ones being necessary in the future.

"In a UK context we have taken this action quite early as our case numbers per 100,000 of the population is a bit lower than it is in many other parts of the UK," she said.

"So this is a necessary measure, a preventative measure by intention."

Turning to whether further measures would be inevitable, she said people will be living with the virus for a while to come and that while hopefully science "will ride to our rescue through a vaccine and better treatments along the way" people will need to do live with the virus.

She added measures such as wearing face coverings, physical distancing and working from home where possible would continue for some time but she continued: "If we all comply strictly with these things we will hopefully reduce the need for the heavier restrictions that are more associated with lockdown."

She said that compliance with new restrictions put in place on Friday was "good".

Heavy limitations were put on hospitality businesses last week including the closure of all bars and restaurants in the central belt.

The First Minister thanked individuals and businesses and said compliance with the new measures was good.

She said: "The early anecdotal evidence that we have from the police would suggest that compliance with the new rules and with rules generally has been good.

"That's encouraging - these new restrictions are really tough for everybody and they are tough for businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector.

"Nobody is unaware of that, but they are vital for helping to stem the increase in cases, bring it back under control and of course stem the increase in hospital admissions and illness that we have been seeing."

With the measures in place for two weeks, Sturgeon said the Scottish Government was looking to ensure the long-term suppression of the virus.

Scotland's new tiered alert system will look to align as closely with the rest of the UK as possible, she added.  The briefing in Edinburgh followed a Cobra meeting this morning with the Prime Minister and leaders of the devolved administrations.

She said a new tiered alert system for Scotland would follow the new restrictions put in place for two weeks north of the border.

The proposal will be put before the Scottish Parliament after the October recess.

She said: "At a strategic level, we will be looking to align as closely as possible with the other UK nations - I think it is important and it makes sense to try and do that.

"Though, I would stress that operational decisions about what tiers may apply in which parts of our nations will be for each of us to take at a devolved level."

The First Minister reiterated that, as well as the new tiered alert system, other measures, including a revamp of the testing strategy, the extension of face covering regulations and strengthening compliance with public health guidance - particularly around self isolation - would be put in place.