Nicola Sturgeon is to confirm new levels of coronavirus restrictions for Scotland in a statement to MSPs today.
It is the first time MSPs will be able to question the decision to put the country's mainland areas in level four from Boxing Day, while Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles will enter level three.
UPDATE: Nicola Sturgeon is speaking in parliament, follow LIVE here
The First Minister first announced on Saturday that extra restrictions will be put in place in light of a new coronavirus variant spreading in the south of England.
Here is what we know about today's announcement, and how to watch it:
What can we expect from Nicola Sturgeon's update?
Today, we're expecting the First Minister to confirm that all areas on mainland Scotland will enter level four restrictions from 00.01am on Boxing Day.
In Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles will enter level three.
MSPs will be able to question the decision for the first time.
Ms Sturgon also confirmed that there will be an update on the new variant of coronavirus and advice in light of this.
When is Nicola Sturgeon's update?
The First Minister will make her announcement to MSPs at around 2.05pm.
How can I watch Nicola Sturgeon's update?
The announcement will be broadcast live on the Scottish Government's Twitter account, as well as BBC Scotland.
We will of course be bringing you live updates on our live blog.
What is level four?
Level four restrictions mean all hospitality and non-essential shops will close to the public.
Driving lessons will be suspended, and non-essential travel into or out of the level four area is not permitted.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel