NICOLA Sturgeon has criticised Boris Johnson's "Freedom Day" plan, saying it is "not sensible" given the rising number of Covid cases in the UK.

In England masks are becoming voluntary in public places, with the one metre-plus social distancing rule dropped and house parties once again allowed.

It come as 1735 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in the previous 24 hours in Scotland.

The figures show a decrease on numbers published on Saturday afternoon, which recorded 2317 new cases, with 49 people in intensive care and 517 in hospital in the 24 hours preceding their publication.

Sturgeon tweeted: “As this chart shows, cases in (Scotland) are falling, but still too high.

“To talk of tomorrow as ‘freedom day’ (England only remember) is not sensible IMO, given current situation.

“Vaccines going well and do offer route through – but as we vaccinate, we must ease up gradually.”

READ MORE: Scotland records 1735 new cases of Covid and no new deaths

She added: "If you live in or visiting (Scotland) please abide by remaining safety measures.

“Stick to group limits, keep 1m distance in public places, wear face masks, wash hands etc.

“While we vaccinate, these measures help keep us safe. More info available at gov.scot.”

Professor Mark Woolhouse, who advises both UK and Scottish governments, said the approach being taken by Boris Johnson was “somewhat naive”.

His warning came as the UK recorded more than 50,000 daily cases for the second day running.

Woolhouse, who is professor of infectious disease epidemiology at Edinburgh University, said he had been concerned for months that a “big release” of unlocking would bring potential for a “very large wave” of cases.

READ MORE: England should copy Scotland and keep some virus restrictions, expert urges

He told Times Radio: “I was always concerned, and I’ve said so many times, that this idea that it would be a final ‘Freedom Day’ was, I have to say, somewhat naive.

“The public health expectation was that we would need additional measures to keep the rate of increase of cases under control.”

Sturgeon also slammed Sky News for saying the UK is to drop all Covid rules instead of England.

The First Minister hit out at the broadcaster and said it wasn’t “acceptable” for it to mix the two up and confuse public health messaging.

A screenshot of the news channel at 1.44pm emerged on Twitter with the headline “Lifting Lockdown” in large letters. The subheading reads: “UK is set to drop all legal Covid-19 restrictions tomorrow which means social distancing and face coverings will become optional.”

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon slams Sky News for saying UK instead of England in Covid report

One Twitter user highlighted the Sky News error and it was picked up by the First Minister.

She said: “Indeed. This isn’t acceptable @SkyNews given the importance of clear public messages. The UK isn’t lifting all Covid restrictions tomorrow – England is.

“Restrictions on eg size of gatherings, distance, face masks will remain in place in [Scotland] for now, as we ease up gradually.”

Sky News was contacted for comment.