The Scottish Government on Tuesday hinted at imposing new Covid measures amid a slight rise in the number of infections.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney told MSPs that the NHS in Scotland is currently “under intense pressure”.
The SNP politician added that the country is at a “precarious and unpredictable” stage of the fight against the virus.
Despite the number of hospital and ICU admissions falling in recent weeks, the need for strengthening Covid rules was not ruled out as we get closer to the deep winter months.
He outlined some reasons infections could rise over the next few months, including more time spent indoors during winter and visiting family over the Christmas period.
Speaking at Holyrood, Mr Swinney said: “We certainly want to avoid the sort of strict lockdowns we had seen before most of us were vaccinated - we do not want to repeat the sort of disruption to our daily lives, businesses and the economy that had been required at the earlier stage in the pandemic.
“But 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.”
Swinney went on to note a number of fresh mitigations that are currently being considered by the Scottish Government ahead of its three-weekly review next Tuesday.
1. Extension of Covid passport scheme
The Deputy First Minister said that the vaccine passport scheme may be extended to include indoor hospitality and leisure settings.
Currently, Scots need to show evidence that they have received at least two doses of the vaccine before entering large events, nightclubs and some football stadiums.
Labour MSP Daniel Johnson raised “significant concerns” about the extension and asked if a negative lateral flow test could be shown “in lieu of a vaccine passport”.
In response John Swinney said: “I can confirm that the government is considering that very question as part of these deliberations.”
2. Face coverings
The Scottish Government is also considering expanding the requirement to wear a face covering in Scotland.
Under the current rules, Scots are required to wear a face mask on public transport, inside hospitality venues, shopping centres, supermarkets and a range of other indoor public buildings.
John Swinney did not go into detail into the places where Scots might be required to wear a face covering.
3. Booster vaccinations
The Scottish Government yesterday announced that one million people in Scotland have received a booster dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
John Swinney said that the rollout of the booster programme is the “best performing rollout in the UK”.
But the minister added that the government are exploring ways to increase the capacity further. This could include the establishment of additional clinics and potential providing vaccines at evenings and weekends.
4. Home working
The Scottish Government currently recommends that Scots work from home or do a mixture of office and remote working if possible.
Officials are said to be considering what they can do to “increase home working” over the winter months.
5. Ventilation
The government is also looking at ways to improve ventilation as Scots spend more time indoors during the winter months.
Studies have suggested that high levels of ventilation could reduce the airborne transmission risk by up to 70%.
