Allowing multiple households to meet-up over Christmas could cause a third wave of Covid cases in Scotland, public health experts have warned.
A four-nation agreement signed off by Nicola Sturgeon and Boris Johnson means lockdown restrictions will be temporarily eased for a five day period from December 23 - meaning people from up to three households can form "a bubble" allowing them to meet indoors.
But Christmas mixing was slated yesterday by an Edinburgh-based academic who has advised the First Minister during the pandemic.
Devi Sridhar, a professor of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, said: "Christmas mixing in the UK is a terrible idea.
"Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Please, please be cautious over the holidays and remember those working in hospitals."
She added: "Pfizer vaccine already being rolled out. AstroZeneca on its way.
"Why risk infecting your loved ones when they could get the vaccine within weeks and months?
"We’ve been doing this for 10 months. What’s another few weeks?
That warning was echoed today by Linda Bauld, a professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh.
She told BBC Good Morning Scotland: "I think we need to recognise what's happening across the UK. Wales is in a very serious situation - they've got over 300 cases per 100,000, while it's around 100 in Scotland.
"If you look at London and the south-east of England, there are some really large numbers there.
"The risk is you go into the Christmas period, with households mixing, is a lot of extra cases in January.
"There are parts of Scotland where levels (of the virus) are not as low as everybody would wish, and if we open up and there is mixing, then of course it means there is going to be an increase in case numbers and that means more people in hospital.
"I haven't heard anyone working in public health or the NHS who is not urging people to be cautious this Christmas."
She added: "Government can't really roll back on this commitment now as it would erode trust. But I think what they should say is this is a really risky situation."
Official guidance on published by the Scottish Government states that Christmas gatherings will be set at eight people over 12 years old in Scotland - and households should stay two metres apart indoors
The rules for Scotland, published on Thursday morning, stated so-called "bubbles" will be capped at three households here.
The total number of people is eight, and social distancing is encouraged between different groups - making Christmas dinner round the table a challenge. Scots are also warned to avoid sharing cutlery and dishes.
