Parts of Scotland may remain in Level Two lockdown restrictions due to the rise in coronavirus cases, Humza Yousaf has announced.
The Health Secretary told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland show that some parts of the country will not move down to Level One as planned on June 7.
Glasgow, which is still in Level Three, is expected to shift down a Level on Saturday to be in line with the rest of the mainland.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Friday that she would announce no later than Wednesday if Glasgow would have restrictions eased at the weekend.
The spread of the so-called Indian variant in some parts of the city meant it was kept in Level Three in order to stem the virus.
At the briefing on Friday, Sturgeon announced that a decision on whether the entire country could move to Level One on June 7 would be made on Tuesday, June 1.
Yousaf said that it was likely some parts, including Glasgow, would remain at Level Two due to the number of cases.
He said: "It may not be the entire country moving to Level One.
"I think people would understand where there are still rising case numbers, where there is rising test positivity and if people are getting severely ill and hospitalised with the new variant then it may be that parts of the country would move to Level One, but in other parts of the country we decide to keep in Level Two.
"There are other parts of the country that clearly, from the data, give us continued cause for concern so there will be other parts of the country that may not move from Level Two to Level One.
"It is early for me to say so but that is certainly the situation as we are looking at it."
