Nicola Sturgeon has pledged her first job if she wins reelection will be to review Scotland's lockdown restrictions.
The SNP leader highlighted her record of leading the country through the pandemic over the last year as she steps up campaigning ahead of Thursday's crunch election.
Polls suggest the Nationalists are on the verge of securing a majority of MSPs which could prove crucial if Boris Johnson is to listen to demands for a second referendum on independence.
But Sturgeon today insisted her priority remained the recovery from coronavirus and helping as many businesses as possible reopen after months of gruelling lockdown effectively shut down much of the economy.
According to the Scottish Government's roadmap, many rules are due to be relaxed as of Monday, May 17.
This would see pubs able to welcome back customers indoors and cinemas reopening for the first time this year.
A decision is also due on whether to allow non-essential travel overseas, which could pave the way for Scots to go on foreign holidays this summer.
Sturgeon said: “The first job of a newly elected government will be to decide on whether we are ready to lift restrictions even further on May 17. That’s why I believe Scotland needs serious leadership for serious times.
“I am confident that the country is on the right track, and we will be able to take further steps to free up society and allow our economy to begin to recover.
“With infection levels low and over 60% of people in Scotland having had their first dose of the vaccine, and over 1.2million having had their second dose, we are moving in the right direction but we must protect that progress.
“We have come together over the last year to get through the pandemic together, with people going to extraordinary lengths, whether working in our NHS, frontline services, working and schooling from home or making huge personal sacrifices."
She continued: "If we apply the same approach to recovery, and all come together to build a better, fairer society then there is nothing that Scotland cannot achieve.
“I am ready to get down to work, backed by a strong SNP government, to do what I can to get Scotland through the pandemic and into recovery."
