First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announces travel ban with the rest of the UK as the Highlands will enter Tier 4 restrictions from Boxing Day
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First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced a range of strict new "preventative" measures to combat a virulent new strain of the Covid virus.
They include a travel ban between Scotland and the rest of the UK and the whole of mainland Scotland will enter Tier 4 restrictions from Boxing Day.
Announcing the restrictions, Ms Sturgeon said the new measures "make her want to cry."
The travel ban means that no one from Scotland should exit the country into one of the other three home nations nor should anyone in the other three nations enter Scotland.
All of Scotland except the islands will also enter Tier 4 restrictions from Boxing Day for three weeks, including the Highlands which has lower case levels than the Western Isles.
Tier 4 rules are close to a full lockdown with all non-essential shops, pubs and restaurants, gyms, libraries and hairdressers, to be closed.
Schools will open next week but holidays will be extended until January 11 followed by online learning until the January 18.
However, the previously announced relaxation for Christmas Day will go ahead amid strong encouragement to meet outdoors as much as possible.
That relaxation would only be available for that one day and not overnight, so travel would have to completed within that one 24 hours period.
She also called on people to ramp-up their personal efforts to follow the rules on hygiene and social distancing.
The changes were agreed in a cabinet meeting in response to a new highly contagious strain of Covid.
It is estimated that the new strain can be as high as 70 per cent more contagious than the previous one.
She said: "This is the most serious situation and juncture since the start of the Covid pandemic.
"We still have a chance of acting in a preventative manner.
"There is strong evidence that the new strain is spreading substantially and significantly more quickly than the strains of the virus we have seen up until now.
"That evidence suggests that it could be up to 70 per cent more transmissible than previous strains of the virus.
"But if we do act now then we do have a chance of keeping things under control while the vaccine programme makes progress.
"The action we propose is designed to do two things, it is designed to stop the new strain from entering Scotland from parts of the UK where it is already circulating.
"And second, given that we know it is already present in Scotland then it is due to stop it spreading any further here.
"Firstly, we are asking everyone to redouble to their personal efforst at following the rules.
"That means: staying out of each others houses, abiding by travel restrictions, keeping a safe distance from people from other households, following the hygiene advice really, really strictly.
"Secondly, prevent more of this strain being imported into Scotland then we intend to maintain a strict travel ban between Scotland and the rest of the UK.
"That ban will remain in place throughout the festive period. Cross-border travel for all but the most essential purposes must be enforced.
"We will also be reviewing urgently the position on on international travel and I will have an update on that early next week.
"Given the concern we now have about this new strain we intend to change the law to allow indoor mixing in a bubble on Christmas Day only."
