SCOTLAND'S Health Secretary has been accused of "mixed messaging" after she was forced to clarify that Glasgow and other areas will exit lockdown on Friday as planned.

Jeane Freeman had suggested areas where level four coronavirus restrictions are currently in place could remain under the toughest rules beyond December 11.

She said "all options are on the table" and a decision will be announced on Tuesday.

This came despite First Minister Nicola Sturgeon repeatedly insisting level four restrictions in areas such as Glasgow and surrounding councils will be lifted on December 11, allowing non-essential shops to reopen.

Ms Freeman later indicated she misspoke and retracted the comments.

She wrote on Twitter: "Eleven local authorities currently in level four will come out of that level on Friday. That position has not changed.

"The Cabinet will decide on Tuesday what level below four they’ll go into.

"My comments were intended to mean in respect of that decision, all options are on the table."

The muddle was criticised by opposition politicians.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Donald Cameron said: “This mixed messaging and confusion from the SNP Health Secretary helps nobody as they plan to come out of the toughest restrictions.

“The questions she was asked could not have been clearer. These restrictions affect millions of people and they deserve a clear and consistent message from SNP ministers. 

“While it is welcome that the government has eventually confirmed these restrictions will end, there was absolutely no need for this speculation to occur in the first place.”

Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Monica Lennon said it is "not the time for spin".

She said: "Jeane Freeman muddled the message and should simply hold her hands up and apologise to those businesses and people living in level four.

"The pandemic is far from over and people in Scotland need clear, consistent and reliable information from the Scottish Government at all times."

Appearing on the BBC's Politics Scotland, Ms Freeman was asked if some level four areas could remain in that tier.

She said: "All options are on the table at this point, as you would expect them to be.

"That doesn't mean – people shouldn't read from that any decision one way or the other.

"The work goes on over the weekend so that we have the most up-to-date data, the most up-to-date clinical advice, then we take a decision as a Cabinet on Tuesday and the First Minister makes that announcement on Tuesday."

Asked if some areas could be in level four at Christmas, Ms Freeman said it was important that ministers "take the right amount of time" to reach a judgement.

Her comments contradicted previous statements by Ms Sturgeon.

Last month, the First Minister said: "Level four restrictions in the areas will be lifted on December 11.

"Before then we will have to make an assessment based on up-to-date data at the time about what levels these areas then go into.

"Will they go back to level three or could some of them go to level two?

"We can't make that assessment right now because we need to wait and see what the data is, but the level four restrictions will be lifted on December 11."

Eleven local authority areas moved to level four on November 20, meaning more than two million Scots are currently living under the toughest rules.

These areas are East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian.

Restrictions will be eased for five days over Christmas across the UK to allow families to meet up indoors if they need to.

Between December 23 and 27, people will be able to travel within the UK to spend Christmas together and to form “bubbles” of up to eight people from three households.

However Ms Sturgeon has repeatedly urged Scots not to do this if they can avoid it.

Yesterday's row came as figures showed more than 100,000 people in Scotland have now tested positive for coronavirus, after 643 new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours.

Scotland also recorded five deaths of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days.

The latest daily number of coronavirus deaths shows a fall from the 22 confirmed on Saturday, although fewer tend to be registered at weekends.

New positive cases were also lower than the 777 announced on Saturday.

The past week has seen 5,417 new cases of coronavirus, taking the total figure to 100,106 since the start of the pandemic.

Scotland's death toll of those with confirmed infections now stands at 3,916.

Scottish Government figures show there were also 951 people in hospital in the past 24 hours with recently-confirmed Covid-19, up by six from the previous day. Of those, 62 were in intensive care, down two.

In the past 24 hours, the results of 14,790 tests were confirmed, with 5.2 per cent of people testing positive for the virus.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde recorded 190 new Covid-19 cases, while 126 were identified in Lanarkshire, 70 in Ayrshire and Arran, 64 in Lothian and 48 in Grampian. 

There were 60 positive cases in Fife, 24 in the Forth Valley, 50 in Tayside, three in the Highlands, three in the Borders and five in Dumfries and Galloway. 

No cases were registered on Orkney, Shetland or the Western Isles.