Nicola Sturgeon is expected to address MSPs in the Scottish Parliament regarding Covid-19 on Wednesday afternoon at 2pm.
It follows the news that the number of patients with the virus in Scottish hospitals has reached an all-time high.
According to new statistics released by the Scottish Government, 2,360 people were receiving treatment in hospitals following the weekend — with 21 in intensive care as of Sunday.
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Additionally, 7,470 new cases of the virus were also reported, with 1,521 of these in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 1,246 in Lothian, as well as 907 in Lanarkshire.
However, despite the surging case numbers, there have been calls — primarily from the Scottish Conservatives — to scrap all remaining legal Covid restrictions such as face coverings.
Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross stated that Sturgeon should "trust the public" and avoid delaying the lifting of restrictions any further, claiming that the SNP's strategy for the virus has "failed".
He said: “Nicola Sturgeon must give up control over people's lives and ditch Covid rules tomorrow. She can’t use the higher case rates that she has completely failed to reduce as an excuse to delay or backtrack on lifting the remaining restrictions.
"We have now been living under some form of legal Covid restrictions for over two years. Nicola Sturgeon must now start to trust the Scottish public to keep themselves safe.
"Despite their overly cautious approach, the SNP’s Covid strategy has failed. Scotland’s infection rates have been significantly higher than England’s for several weeks."
He added: "All the SNP have achieved with their dithering and delays is to prolong the hardship of the public and businesses.cNicola Sturgeon cannot keep Scotland in Covid restrictions forever. It's time we got back to normality.”
Most covid restrictions in Scotland were dropped earlier this month, but face masks continue to be required in certain situations such as on public transport.
