A full lockdown will take effect across all of mainland Scotland in an attempt to contain the new, faster-spreading variant of Covid-19.
Schools will remain closed to pupils until February, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said today, while new laws will require people to stay at home and work from home where possible.
Outdoor gatherings will also to be cut back, with people only allowed to meet one person from one other household.
Places of worship will be closed and group exercise banned across the Scottish mainland until at least the end of January, and will be kept under review.
Some islands in Argyll and Bute will remain in level three – but Ms Sturgeon said they would be monitored carefully.
A further 1,905 new cases were reported on Monday, with 15% of tests returning a positive result.
The First Minister said she was ‘more concerned about the situation we face now than I have been at any time since March last year’, with the new coronavirus strain now accounting for half of new cases.
And she said a ;steeply rising trend of infections’ was threatening to put “significant pressure” on NHS services, saying hospitals could breach capacity within three to four weeks.
The new rules – which will be put down in law – mean people will only be allowed to leave home for essential purposes, such as shopping for food and medicine, exercise and caring responsibilities.
No limit is to be put on how many times people can go out to exercise, but outdoor meetings are to be limited to a maximum of two people from two households.
Everyone who can work from home will be required to, and people in the ‘shielding’ category are advised not to go in to work at all.
Construction and manufacturing industries will remain open but this would be kept under review.
More than 100,000 people have been given a first dose of the vaccine in Scotland, and the government expects to have access to just over 900,000 doses by the end of January.
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