People who test positive for Covid in Scotland will be allowed to exit self-isolation after seven days if they have no fever and record two negative lateral flow tests. 

The move brings Scotland into line with England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Household contacts of people with the virus will be allowed to take tests rather than going into quarantine, so long as they have had a booster shot.

The changes will take effect from midnight.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs that no other changes will be made to Scotland’s pandemic restrictions for at least another week.

A further 16,103 cases were reported on Tuesday, and the first minister said there had been “rapid and very widespread transmission” of the Omicron variant of the virus over the festive period.

Official surveys suggested that in the week to 23 December, one in every 40 people in Scotland had Covid – and within a week, this had risen to one in every 20.

Ms. Sturgeon told MSPs that the virus was “more widespread now than at any point in the pandemic so far”, something which has had “extremely serious implications” for the NHS and other key services.

The number of people in hospitals with the virus has increased by 80% over the past week, from 679 to 1,223 – although the number of people in intensive care has been broadly stable, with 42 recorded yesterday.

Read More