THE First Minister has warned the whole of Scotland may be put onto lockdown if people in level 3 and level 4 disregard a travel ban which comes into force.

Nicola Sturgeon was speaking at her daily coronavirus briefing a day after she announced that more than two million Scots living in 11 council areas would move onto the toughest tier of restrictions at 6pm on Friday.

To accompany the move, a travel ban is to be brought into law meaning people living in level 3 and level 4 areas cannot travel in and out of areas on lower restrictions.

Turning to the new regulations, she said: "Please make sure you stick to the new rules on travel. By doing that you limit your risk of passing on the virus but it's by doing that that you also make it possible for us to continue with a targeted approach and avoid having the put the whole country into the highest level of restrictions."

She later pointed to exisiting travel restrictions in England and Wales with people in the former only able to leave their home for an essential purpose.

"This is a global pandemic. Every time we travel we risk taking the virus from one area to another. So the less we travel, particularly if we don't need to, the more we are minimising doing that," she said.

She added that the Scottish Government was trying to avoid a full national lockdown.

"We are trying to avoid the whole of the country being in the same level 4 restrictions," she said.

"That is only possible if people don't take the virus from areas where it is high such as where I live in Glasgow to the islands where it's lowest...I'm afraid travel restrictions are just a essential part of what we have to do generally to try and defeat the virus. And within Scotland it is essential if we are to keep that more targeted approach."

She added: "Otherwise we would have to have a one size fits all restrictions for the whole of the country and we will end up with the Highlands or islands and areas in the Lothians with lower transmission being in level 4 because of high rates in Glasgow, not because of the situation in their own areas."

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The First Minister announced yesterday that 11 council areas are to be placed under level 4 restrictions from Friday - forcing hospitality, non-essential retail, gyms, hairdressers and other businesses to close. It is close to the situation in spring when the country was in full lockdown, however unlike then schools will remain open.

Level 4 will be applied in the Glasgow City Council area, as well as Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, Stirling and West Lothian.

Earlier today, the deputy first minister said it is "very, very unlikely" people will be stopped by police under new coronavirus travel restrictions but the new measures will send a "clear signal" to the public.

John Swinney said those caught breaching the travel restrictions could be given a fixed penalty notice.

He stressed people travelling between council areas for essential journeys - such as a hospital appointment - will not have to show paperwork to support this if they are stopped.

Swinney told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "If an individual happened to be stopped by the police, which I think is a very, very unlikely circumstance, on their way to a hospital, if they were to explain to a police officer they were going to hospital for a critical appointment that would be an end of the matter.

"They don't have to have paperwork to substantiate that."

He added he does "not envisage those circumstances happening".

Residents in the City of Edinburgh Council area along with Angus, Clackmannanshire, Falkirk, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, Dundee, Fife and Perth and Kinross will also be subject to the travel restrictions in Level 3.