NICOLA Sturgeon is considering a "circuit breaker" to control the spread of coronavirus following a surge in new Covid cases this week and increasing numbers of patients with the virus having to go to hospital.

The move is under consideration to help stem the spread of the virus which has lead to more than 5000 new cases – record numbers – for several days this week.

And despite high vaccination levels, the high number of people falling ill has lead to an increase in patients needing hospital treatment - just when the NHS needs to catch up on operations delayed because of the pandemic.

So what does a circuit breaker lockdown mean?

The move means curbs being introduced for a short time to slow the spread of infections.

Also known as a mini lockdown, the measure was introduced in the central belt of Scotland for several weeks in October last year – again following a steep rise in cases.

And while it may not be replicated in the same manner should a new circuit breaker be introduced, the curbs in the autumn included the closure of pubs and restaurants in the central belt and restrictions placed on them elsewhere in the country including a ban on the sale of alcohol indoors.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon to hold Covid briefing as circuit breaker lockdown considered

No travel ban was introduced at the time with the Scottish Government instead asking people within the Central Belt to think carefully about whether they need to travel outside their local health board area.

Working from home was also expected of all those who can with the government asking non-essential offices to remain closed and public transport use to be minimised as much as possible.

Indoor sports classes were stopped along with snooker and pool halls, indoor bowling, casinos and bingo halls. Outdoor live events were banned.

The Scottish Government has made clear it wants to keep children in school, so it is unlikely schools would be forced to close again for a long period of time in the case of a circuit breaker lockdown.

Ahead of the circuit breaker last year the First Minister said: "A 'circuit breaker' could mean a lot of different things, so what we are looking at is what further restrictions may be necessary to get the virus back under control. Indoor sports and leisure classes were also required to stop during the period.

"That could be a number of different things, but equally it could well be that a number of different things are not included and it's not something that is anything like the lockdown that we had in March.

"We have some considerations this afternoon where I and clinical advisors will look at the current state of the epidemic, we'll look at the geography of the spread, we'll look at the demographics of the spread.

"I know why people talk about a circuit breaker, but it's one of these terms that I think different people use to mean a whole range of different things.

"I think it's important we focus on the components that would form part of any package of measures that we might choose to take and I think it's really important we do that in an orderly and systematic way."