Nicola Sturgeon is facing desperate calls to keep North and South Lanarkshire out of the new highest level-four covid restrictions.
A joint letter was sent to the First Minister from police, councillors and the local NHS urging her to keep the region at level three, broadly where it is now.
It follows approval of Scotland’s new five-tier system yesterday, and ahead of an expected final decision on alert levels on Thursday.
The Lanarkshire letter to Sturgeon states: "While we agree that virus transmission and health analysis is the primary basis on which decisions should be considered, we do not believe the most up-to-date statistics support a move to level four."
The letter provides statistics and trends to show progress in dealing with infection and warns there will be a major economic and social cost of harsher restrictions.
"Against that backdrop, and the significant additional harms and consequences we have set out for level four when compared with the other levels, we would urge the Scottish Government to place Lanarkshire in level three of the restrictions and assume that its neighbouring authorities will be in a similar position," the letter adds.
It was signed by the chief executives of North and South Lanarkshire councils, NHS Lanarkshire and by Alan Waddell, the chief superintendent of Police Scotland's Lanarkshire division.
While Lanarkshire is braced for the highest curbs, other regions are calling for rules to be relaxed. The Scottish Borders wants to be placed in level one reflecting the low rates of infection, but it is so far pencilled in for level two.
The rest of the central belt, including Glasgow and Edinburgh, is likely to be in level three, probably joined by Dundee. There are hopes the Highlands and islands could drop to level one.
The Scottish Government is having talks with councils before the levels are confirmed.
At her daily briefing in Edinburgh today, Sturgeon said: "Work to finalise these decisions will take place over the course of today and this evening."
She added: "The position we are in right now is really tough, and everyone is thoroughly sick of it.
"That has been the case for some time, but as the nights get darker, as we head into winter, and as our attention and thoughts turn to Christmas, I think that feeling becomes a heavier one for all of us."
Speaking about the pandemic, she said: “We will get through it. I think that is the one thing we can be reasonably certain of.
"But the journey through it is, and will continue to be, really difficult for people."
