Scotland remains on course for a 'Freedom Day' on August 9 when the remaining legal restrictions against coronavirus are lifted.
All 32 local authority areas north of the Border are due to be placed at Level 0 as of July 19, with social distancing rules due to be ditched three weeks later, according to the Scottish Government's previously published roadmap out of lockdown.
But covid cases have rocketed among Scots under the age of 40 - most of whom have not received two doses of a vaccine - in recent weeks, leading to fears that the easing of restrictions may be delayed.
Speaking a covid media briefing in Edinburgh today, the First Minister said changes to people being admitted to hospital over coronavirus gives confidence the vaccination programme is working.
She said: “Fewer people who get Covid-19 now need to go to hospital and a higher proportion of people who do need to go to hospital are not staying in hospital for as long.
“These two factors are obviously helping to cut down the serious illness impact of the virus, but also they are helping to protect the NHS from the full scale of the pressure that case numbers like this would have heaped on it before vaccination.
“These factors are also what continues to give us confidence that vaccination is going to get us out of this.”
She added: “That’s why, notwithstanding this increase in cases that we’re seeing just now – and obviously bearing in mind that we do have to keep this under review as we always have done, we do remain hopeful that we will be able to continue lifting restrictions, first on July 19 and then ultimately on August 9.
“But how safely we get there depends on what we do now.This is a critical moment, and I really can’t stress that enough.
“Over the next few weeks, it demands renewed care and vigilance from all of us.”
It comes as Scotland has recorded one coronavirus death and 3,118 cases in the past 24 hours, the latest Scottish Government figures show.
It means the death toll under this daily measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – stands at 7,713.
The daily test positivity rate is 11.6%, down from 12.6% the previous day.
