HOLYROOD will be recalled tomorrow – for just the fifth time since it was reconvened in 1999 – to allow the First Minister to give an update on new lockdown restrictions.

Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh today confirmed move to allow a statement by Nicola Sturgeon on the additional curbs that are to be introduced to fight an upsurge in cases of the virus.

Her statement will be followed by questions from opposition party leaders and backbench MSPs. The meeting will be held in a hybrid format.

It will be the fifth time Parliament has been recalled since 1999 and the second time within the last four weeks. Previously, it was convened after the deaths of Donald Dewar in October 2000 and the Queen Mother in April 2002. It was also reconvened following the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi in 2009.

It was recalled on December 30 to allow MSPs to consider the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal before the new year.

The recall tomorrow follows a week with record daily numbers of confirmed cases — the latest figures show a further 2,137 were confirmed in Scotland on Friday and previous warnings that more restrictions may be required to contain the pandemic in light of a new more infectious strain of the virus.

Ahead of the statement the Cabinet will meet tomorrow and there will also be a meeting of the Education Recovery Group which may discuss extending school closures and remote learning for pupils.

In a series of tweets this morning, the First Minister said: "The rapid increase in Covid cases, driven by the new variant, is of very serious concern.

"The steep increases and severe NHS pressure being experienced in other parts of the UK is a sign of what may lie ahead. So we must take all steps to slow spread while vaccination progresses.

"We, like other countries, are in a race between this faster spreading strain of Covid and the vaccination programme.

"As we work to vaccinate as quickly as possible, we must also do more to slow down the virus - to save lives and help the NHS care for all those who need it.

"Following a meeting of the Scottish Government resilience committee yesterday to assess latest situation, the Cabinet will meet tomorrow am to consider further action to limit spread and I've asked for Scottish Parliament to be recalled tomorrow afternoon so that I can set out our decisions in a statement.

"All decisions just now are tough, with tough impacts. Vaccines give us way out, but this new strain makes the period between now and then the most dangerous since start of pandemic.

"So the responsibility of government must be to act quickly and decisively in the national interest."

Meanwhile, Professor Linda Bauld, chair of public health at Edinburgh University’s Usher Institute, warned the country faces school closures being extended.

Bauld raised doubt that face-to-face teaching in schools can resume as planned on January 18 and warned that “stronger” stay at home guidance may be necessary.

Some workplaces currently open will need to close, she added in an interview published today, and travel restrictions will remain essential. The new variant does not appear to be more severe but data suggesting greater transmissibility “looks convincing”, said Bauld.

“I would expect it to become the dominant form of the virus all across the UK in the next few weeks.”

Government officials have said that a plan to fully open schools on January 18 is subject to daily assessments of the pandemic and the new variant. One measure being considered is rapid testing in schools but the new strain is spreading so fast that ministers may need to extend the lockdown and close schools until February.

South of the border, pressure is growing on the UK government to keep all schools in England closed for two weeks after the Christmas break. Teaching unions have told primary school staff it is unsafe to return to work and called for remote learning.

Sturgeon has warned that the coming weeks “may be the most serious we’ve faced” since the start of the pandemic. All mainland Scotland and Skye are under level 4 restrictions, while the other islands are in level 3. Shetland is on the brink of moving to level 4 amid an outbreak that has infected more than 70 people.

Overall, 2059 lives have been lost in Scotland during the final three months of 2020, taking the number of second wave deaths close to the first wave in spring.

Ahead of the Christmas recess, the First Minister warned that further restrictions may be necessary to curb the virus, including putting into law advice to stay at home.

Making it mandatory to remain at home could mean Scots may only be allowed to leave home in certain limited circumstances such asa for essential items of shopping, for exercise or to travel to work if unable to work from home.