First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned Scots that the coronavirus lockdown is unlikely to be ended anytime soon.
She said it would be a 'monumental mistake' to ease the restrictions designed to slow the spread of the virus too early.
The First Minister will attend a COBRA summit led by Boris Johson's deputy later today alongside politicians from with the Welsh and Northern Irish governments.
The COBRA meeting is expected to make a decision on the review of lockdown measures.
But the First Minister said she did not think there will be 'any possibility' of ending the strict measures currently put in place to fight Covid-19.
Addressing the Easter weekend, Sturgeon urged Scots to continue to follow lockdown protocols.
She said: “I know how hard it is for people to do that, it will seem even harder over this Easter holiday weekend, especially for families with children and indeed for the children themselves and for older people who would normally be spending time with their grandchildren.
“Please stay in touch with family, friends and loved ones in whatever alternative way best works for you."
"Reach out to and look out for people even as you stay physically apart from them, but please do follow the rules and stay at home over Easter."
Speaking to Sky News earlier today, Nicola Sturgeon said: “I agree with Mark Drakeford, the First Minister of Wales; I don’t think there is any possibility, any likelihood, of these lockdown measures being lifted immediately, or even imminently.
“We don’t even really have enough data from what has happened so far to know for sure the impact they’re having.
“And, of course, we can see the number of deaths from coronavirus rising.
“So, none of us want these measures to be in place for a single minute longer than they need to be, but it is really important that we stick with it in order to get on top of this virus, make sure we’re slowing down the spread, protecting the health service and of course saving lives.
“So I wouldn’t expect any change coming out of today’s Cobra meeting but we’ll see where the discussions take us.”
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