THE relaxation of strict Covid rules over Christmas will go ahead – despite warnings from public health experts.

Speaking at the Scottish Government’s regular coronavirus briefing, the First Minister said it wouldn’t be fair to “take away the flexibility” promised for the festive season, but she urged those who haven’t yet made plans and those were swithering about what to do, to “decide against”.

Currently, the relaxation in rules means up to eight people from three households can form a bubble ­between December 23 and 27.

The First Minister said ­scrapping this “wouldn’t be realistic” and “may risk undermining, rather than strengthening, compliance with the overall Covid guidance.”

She said: “Firstly and ­unequivocally the safest way to spend Christmas this year for you and for those you love is to stay within your own household and your own home.

“My strong recommendation is this is what you should do if at all ­possible.”

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She said any mixing with other households should take place outside, if possible, but if it is “essential” to meet indoors, people should limit the time of that meeting and the numbers involved as much as possible.

Sturgeon also recommended only meeting up with others on one day, if possible, and not stay overnight ­“unless it is unavoidable”.

She stressed the need to limit ­numbers, saying: “In short if you have to form a bubble keep it as small as possible.”

The First Minister went on to say the Scottish Government recommends against travel from areas with a high prevalence of coronavirus to parts of the country with a lower prevalence.

In a later statement, Sturgeon said this should include “avoiding travel to or from Scotland and Tier 3 areas in England, and to or from any Level 4 areas in Scotland”.

At the briefing, she said: “If you haven’t made plans to form a bubble, please don’t.

“If you are still swithering, please decide against. And if you have made plans but think they are not really ­essential, please think about postponing until later in the year.

“The reality is that this Christmas simply can’t be normal. But we have every reason to hope that next year’s will be much more normal.”

She said the four nations talks were called “because in parts of the UK cases are rising again, and in some parts of the UK rising quite rapidly”.

Case levels in Scotland are “lower than in other nations” currently, Sturgeon added, but she stressed the need to consider the “evolving situation”.

Scotland recorded 689 new cases in the past 24 hours, she announced, and 38 deaths of people who first tested positive for the virus in the previous 28 days, taking this total to 4173.

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Yesterday, in their first joint ­editorial in 100 years, the BMJ and the Health Service Journal called the relaxation “a major error” warning that the governments were “about to blunder into another major error that will cost many lives”.

Earlier, Linda Bauld, professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, said allowing households to mix over the holidays would lead to a “miserable” January and February.

Speaking on the BBC’s Today ­programme, the academic said it was a “no-win” situation for the ­governments.

“I think if they changed the ­guidance now there will be a loss of trust in government because this was a commitment to the British people that they could travel and have this reprieve over five days.

“On the other hand, if they don’t change the guidance, or if they’re not much clearer about the risks, we’re in a really difficult situation.”

She added: “But if they were courageous they would just actually say look, if you can avoid, just change your plans. We’re talking about preventable deaths here. It’s not a trivial thing.”

According to YouGov, 57% of ­people want the relaxation dropped.