Covid vaccination passports could be extended to include pubs in Scotland, the Deputy First Minister has suggested.
John Swinney warned that Scotland was still in a “precarious and unpredictable” situation with regards to the virus with winter looming.
He warned: “If the previous pattern, characterised by waves of infection, is repeated, there is a risk that the spread of the virus could, very quickly, increase again during the coming weeks, perhaps over the Christmas period.”
With the NHS already under “intense pressure”, Mr Swinney said that “some scenarios for what may happen next are very concerning”, telling MSPs there was a “need to avoid the most dangerous of those scenarios”.
He stressed that the Scottish Government wanted to avoid having to reimpose “the sort of strict lockdowns we had seen before most of us were vaccinated”.
But he insisted: “We do need to take appropriate measures to keep the pandemic under control.
“It is because we want to avoid more difficult restrictions that we cannot rule out strengthening the baseline protective measures currently in place as the best way to head off any prospect of future lockdowns.”
The Covid restrictions in place in Scotland will be reviewed again next week, Mr Swinney said.
The coronavirus-1>coronavirus certification scheme requires people going to nightclubs and to other large-scale events – such as concerts and some football matches – to be able to prove they have received two doses of vaccine.
Other possible measures could see work being required to improve ventilation, steps to increase home working and “whether changes are needed to extend use of face coverings”.
At the moment, no decisions had been made yet.
The Government would be “discussing options with business sector organisations this week”.
Mr Swinney was giving the regular coronavirus update to MSPs in place of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who was at the Cop26 climate change summit in Glasgow.
He told the Parliament that there were “some specific reasons to suspect that case numbers may increase in the weeks ahead”.
The Deputy First Minister said: “With the onset of colder winter weather, increased time spent indoors means there will likely be more opportunities for Covid to circulate.
“Cop26 has seen people from all over the world meeting in Glasgow – and that presents a known infection risk.
“And many of us will wish to spend time visiting loved ones over the festive period.”
