RESTRICTIONS on pubs, nightclubs and indoor events will be scrapped from Monday as Scotland enters a "calmer phase" of the pandemic.

Nicola Sturgeon said there was "renewed optimism" with Covid cases and hospital admissions now in decline, as she confirmed that the Scottish Government will not expand the need for vaccine passports to hospitality businesses.

From Monday, all restrictions implemented in response to the Omicron surge will end, meaning table service will no longer be mandatory in pubs and restaurants can return to full capacity without physical distancing.

Nightclubs and adult entertainment venues can reopen from January 24 with requirements for Covid passes still in place, while attendance at indoor events - currently capped at between 100 and 200 - can return to normal.

Guidance advising Scots to limit socialising to a maximum of three households at a time will also come to an end from Monday, although the public is advised to be cautious and avoid unnecessary social interactions until the end of January.

Working from home, where possible, should also continue although Ms Sturgeon said she anticipated moving to a "more hybrid model" from February.

The First Minister said the latest data on infections and hospitalisations "gives us confidence that we have turned the corner on the Omicron wave". 

She added: "A combination of booster vaccinations, the willingness of the public to adapt their behaviour to help stem transmission, and the temporary protective measures introduced in December, has helped blunt the impact of the Omicron wave."

Ms Sturgeon said it would "not be proportionate" to introduce Covid certification requiring customers entering bars and restaurants to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test "given that cases are now falling quite rapidly". 

However, she did not rule out adopting the measure in future, adding: "If cases were to start to rise very sharply again, extension of certification may well be a more proportionate alternative to other, more restrictive measures."

The changes in place from Monday put Scotland back to the 'Beyond Zero' phase of restrictions first introduced in August. 

The Scottish Tories have called for vaccine passports and facemasks in schools to be scrapped by February, with a phased return to workplaces and a gradual end to self-isolation rules from then on. 

Scottish Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health, Dr Sandesh Gulhane, said Ms Sturgeon should accept that that the vaccine passport scheme “is a dud and scrap it altogether". 

He added: “The First Minister's statement did begin a sea change in the government’s policy, starting to shift from a rules-based approach more towards trusting the Scottish public, as we were pushing for."

The UK Government is expected to lift its Plan B measures in England - vaccine passports and working from home - from January 26, although facemask rules may continue temporarily. 

Downing Street is also reportedly considering plans to replace mandatory self-isolation in England for infected individuals - enforceable through fines - with guidance to stay-at-home instead from March, with requirements for travellers arriving in the UK from abroad to take a Covid test reportedly set to be axed. Pre-departure Covid tests for those boarding flights to the UK have already been dropped.

The average number of positive Covid cases being reported daily by PCR tests in Scotland has fallen from a peak of more than 16,000 at the beginning of January to around 4,600 by January 15. 

Since January 5, anyone who is asymptomatic but tests positive for Covid on a lateral flow device has been asked not to book a confirmatory PCR - although they are expected to log the result online. 

This may have contributed to a steeper decline in case than would otherwise have been seen.

However, hospital and ICU admissions are also in decline - from a peak of 155 per day for overall hospital admissions as of January 4 to 137 per day by January 14, and from nearly eight per day in ICU as of January 9 to 4.4 per day on average by January 17.

The Scottish Government is in the process of drawing up a revised strategic framework setting out how Scotland will ease remaining Covid rules in the months ahead. 

This is likely to include details on how testing and self-isolation will be managed in future, as well as longer term guidance on the use of face coverings.

In healthcare settings such as hospitals, GP surgeries and dental practices, ongoing requirements for physical distancing and triaging of patients also continue to limit capacity on wards and the numbers of patients who can be seen face-to-face. This is also likely to be reviewed. 

"The situation we face today is much less severe than it might have been without the sacrifices everyone has made over these past few weeks," said Ms Sturgeon.

"Despite what you might be hearing, though, we have not yet moved from the epidemic to the endemic phase of COVID, although I hope that transition is underway.

"However, we are - I hope - once again entering a calmer phase of the epidemic."

"That then allows us to consider the adaptations we might need to make to build our resilience and manage the virus in a less restrictive way in future as we do move into an endemic phase."