The lockdown restrictions imposed on the hospitality industry in Scotland's central belt will be extended for an extra week, Nicola Sturgeon has announced in today's daily coronavirus briefing.
Edinburgh and the central belt's lockdown of restaurants, bars and pubs was due to end on Monday 26 October, however this will now be extended until 6am on Monday 2 November.
Nicola Sturgeon said that this is "first and foremost a public health decision" and that "the extension allows us to transfer to new levels system smoothly".
The First Minister added that a new tier system strategy will be published this Friday (23 October) and if approved by MSPs the levels will be applied on Monday November 2 and reviewed regularly.
The FM said that: "Given the nature of what we're dealing with, we can't rule out that this new approach will entail an extension of restrictions and the implementation of tougher restrictions."
You can find all of the latest news from today's daily briefing on our LIVE blog here.
