Dates for reopening parts of Scotland's economy will be laid out by the First Minister tomorrow.
Nicola Sturgeon will reveal the proposed date for the reopening of shops and hospitality, as well as further relaxation of rules around meeting others.
Speaking at her lunchtime briefing today, she confirmed her plan to address the Scottish Parliament in the afternoon with an outline of key milestones in the coming weeks and months.
She said: "Our room for manoeuvre is still quite limited and it is important I am clear with you about that.
"However, taking account of that, I will seek to set out some details of what changes we hope to be able to make in early April – hopefully around April 5 – and then what further easing we might then expect to see in late April, and then mid May, and in much less detail beyond that.
Follow today’s big lockdown review as it happens on our live blog
"We cannot provide certainty on everything at this stage, particularly the further into the future we try to look, but we will try to provide as much clarity now as possible.
"So, tomorrow’s statement will hopefully help you understand when you can expect to see some of the key early milestones in our route back to normality.
"And it will include the proposed date for the end of the 'stay at home rule', the re-opening of shopping, the re-opening of outdoor – probably first - and then indoor hospitality, and further relaxations to the rules about meeting up with other households."
Ms Sturgeon's speech makes good on her promise to constantly review and update the country on the route out of lockdown, and will follow the return of thousands more children to school.
She added: "Tomorrow’s statement will I hope, underline the fact that as schools return, and as the most severe of the current restrictions ease, things will start to get a fair bit better in the weeks and months ahead.
"That relaxation of restrictions is something that all of us desperately want to see."
But Ms Sturgeon warned not to expect a free for all, and caution will continue to be key to easing restrictions.
She went on: "But – and this is the point of caution I need to continue to stress to you - we can’t afford to simply throw caution to the wind. I know everybody understands that, but it is important that I do continue to stress it.
"The virus is still out there. We see that, particularly in the last week with a slight increase in cases and of course the virus is more infectious now than when we came out of the lockdown last year.
"So taking care, being cautious, being sensible really matters if we are to avoid – which we all want to do - letting the virus run ahead of the vaccine."
