Guidance urging people to work from home wherever possible in Scotland is to be relaxed in favour of a “hybrid” system of office and remote working.

Employers have been asked to phase workers back into spending some time in the office from Monday 31 January.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the move was possible due to a “significant” fall in Covid-19 cases.

But she warned that a “mass return” to offices overnight could run the risk of pushing infection levels up again.

Meanwhile, the requirement for 2m physical distancing in some indoor settings like churches is to be relaxed, while the rules for schools are being “kept under close and regular review”.

Scottish employers had been urged to enable home working wherever practical, but from Monday this will be replaced by a “hybrid” system.

The government is to set out a blueprint for dealing with future outbreaks in the coming weeks, with Ms Sturgeon saying the goal was to “manage the virus less restrictively”.

However, she stressed that “living with this does not simply mean giving the virus a free ride”, and that the response would need to be “smart” and “flexible”.

Read More