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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
National
Holly Lennon

Nicola Sturgeon to give covid update today after suggesting move away from 'long-term' restrictions

The First Minister will be shedding light on whether the current covid restrictions will be extended in a statement today.

Nicola Sturgeon is set to address the Scottish Parliament this afternoon (January 11) to give an update on the state of the pandemic.

There will also be a review of current restrictions which are expected to continue until January 17.

Restrictions were brought in ahead of the festive season, including limits on numbers attending football matches and the closure of nightclubs.

However, Scotland is continuing to see the impact of the high transmissibility of the omicron variant with another 11,827 cases confirmed on Monday.

Follow Nicola Sturgeon’s covid announcement today as it happens on our live blog

The First Minister will be discussing whether current restrictions will be extended for a further period or relaxed.

On Monday, Ms Sturgeon suggested that a shift away from long-term strict covid restrictions could be necessary moving forward.

She said Scotland will have to ask itself "what adaptations to pre-pandemic life" might be needed so the country can live with coronavirus.

Speaking to STV's Scotland Tonight ahead of her update to parliament, the First Minister explained: "Sometimes when you hear people talk about learning to live with Covid, what seems to be suggested is that one morning we'll wake up and not have to worry about it anymore, and not have to do anything to try to contain and control it," she said.

"That's not what I mean when I say 'learning to live with it'. Instead, we will have to ask ourselves what adaptations to pre-pandemic life - face coverings, for example - might be required in the longer-term to enable us to live with it with far fewer protective measures."

Earlier on Monday, the Scottish Government said it had recorded 11,827 new cases of Covid-19 but no deaths in the last 24 hours.

It means the death toll under this measurement, of people who tested positive for the virus in the past 28 days, remains at 9,934.

While no new deaths were reported, officials noted that register offices are now generally closed at weekends.

There were 1,432 people in hospital on Sunday with recently confirmed Covid-19, up 50 on the previous day, with 54 people in intensive care, down one.

"We are in a position where we all want to get to as much normality as possible. All of us, me included, really crave that," Miss Sturgeon told the broadcaster.

"But we need to recognise that this virus, although we hope Omicron is milder than previous variants, this virus still takes lives and it still causes significant health impacts for people.

"So we have got to treat it seriously and not underestimate the damage that it can do."

When will the First Minister be speaking and where can I watch?

Ms Sturgeon will be speaking at the Scottish Parliament at 2pm.

The statement will be streamed live on Parliament TV and on the Scottish Government's social media.

Follow our live blog for updates throughout the day and during today's statement.

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