NICOLA Sturgeon has said she will make changes to the self-isolation rules in Scotland when "the public health advice says the benefits of doing so outweighs the risks".

The First Minister was asked about the issue by Douglas Ross who said changes are "necessary" due to the scale of staff absences across the country.

Fully-vaccinated people in Scotland who have coronavirus currently have to self-isolate for 10 days.

But England, that has been cut to a week for people who get negative lateral flow results on day six and day seven.

Sturgeon told the Scottish Conservatives leader that she will make changes to the self-isolation rules as soon as the public health benefits outweigh the risks.

But she says the advice at the moment "given the very fragile stage that we are at" is that care is needed so that easing self-isolation does not increase the spread of the virus.

"I also want when we do make changes to self-isolation rules, to try to do it not in a piecemeal way but in an overall coherent way so not just changes to the isolation rules for index cases (those who are infectious) but also making changes to the isolation rules for contacts, particularly for household contacts who currently have the most stringent isolation rules," Sturgeon added.

READ MORE: What are the Covid self isolation rules in Scotland?

Ross said he understands the need for caution, but adds the current rules are "not sustainable".

He went on: "These rules are forcing whole families to self-isolate for 10 days, even if they have tested negative." 

The First Minister said it is the virus that is hampering the economy, not the self-isolation rules.

And she adds that they have been made necessary by the much higher attack rate of Omicron in groups of people who are living close together.

She said: "The danger is if we move away from that more quickly then all we do is spread more infection and the impact on the economy, which I absolutely recognise, gets greater."

Deputy first minister John Swinney told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme yesterday that reducing isolation periods was a measure "that would contribute" towards tackling staffing issues.

But he warned that stopping the circulation of the virus - and the now-dominant Omicron variant - remained "the inescapable challenge that we face".

He said: "We will of course consider the proposition that the United Kingdom government has brought forward.

"There are options that can be taken forward about the self-isolation arrangements which can try to ease pressure on public services.

"But what we have to recognise is that the number of cases is likely to become so significant that it is going to give rise to significant absence levels from our private and public services."