NICOLA Sturgeon could be set to bring in a new legally enforceable stay-at-home rule in a bid to tackle rapidly rising coronavirus case numbers.
The First Minister is due to address Parliament today, after the Presiding Officer agreed to recall MSPs for an emergency session.
It’s thought the Scottish Government could also be set to keep schools closed until next month, or possibly longer.
READ MORE: Covid 19 variant: Stay at home advice may be made law in new crackdown
Most pupils were due back in the classroom on January 18.
The Scottish Cabinet met this morning.
Yesterday, the government reported an increase of 2464 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours – a higher figure than Saturday’s confirmed increase of 2137 new cases.
The daily test positivity rate is now at 15.2% – up from 10.8% on Saturday.
No further deaths were recorded yesterday as the register offices are closed over the public holidays. As of December 31, 4578 people who tested positive for Covid-19 have died.
READ MORE: How to watch Nicola Sturgeon's coronavirus update today
In a series of tweets, Sturgeon 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.”
This is just the fifth time Parliament has been recalled since it was reconvened in 1999 and the second time within the last four weeks.
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