Nicola Sturgeon coronavirus briefing: Why there is no briefing on Tuesday, and how First Minister will update Scotland instead

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First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will not be giving her usual lunchtime briefing today but will instead make an announcement in Holyrood this afternoon.

During today’s briefing in Parliament, which is expected to take place from 2.20pm, Ms Sturgeon will update the country on lockdown and give further information on how long the nation is expected to stay under the current Covid-19 regulations.

What are the current restrictions

Level four restrictions have been in place across mainland Scotland since Boxing Day and were last week extended to the Western Isles.

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Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh picture: PAScottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh picture: PA
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh picture: PA

They have closed non-essential shops and have seen a "stay at home" message put down in law.

How to watch Nicola Sturgeon’s update?

Viewers can watch live on Scottish Parliament TV and follow the First Minister’s Live YouTube Stream as well as the Scottish Government's official Twitter page – @scotgov.

The Scotsman and Edinburgh Evening News will also be running a live blog where you can follow all the updates.

What will the First Minister likely say in her announcement?

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While the Scottish Government has already said the current restrictions will last till at least the middle of February, the First Minister will provide some detail on “other steps we are planning to take”.

Ms Sturgeon will also set out how Scotland intends to go further with measures that are already proposed by the UK for quarantine hotels and travel restrictions.

In her daily briefing at lunchtime on Monday she said: “We have already agreed, with other countries across the UK, to introduce supervised quarantine from some countries.

“However, in our view the current UK-wide proposals don’t go far enough, so tomorrow we will provide some more information about the extent to which we intend to operate supervised quarantine here in Scotland.”

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Her review will also update the nation on schools and nurseries and “how and when we might be able to start to resume in-person learning and childcare”, as well as expanded testing arrangements for these.

The announcement in front of MSPs will also look at plans for community testing of people without Covid-19 symptoms.

This comes after pilot projects were run towards the end of last year, with councils having put forward plans for making “much more extensive use” of community testing.

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