Summer holidays are still a risk says Nicola Sturgeon as she warned the Scottish public against booking up for next year.
Speaking during today's media briefing in Edinburgh, the First Minister said: "Even if we had managed in Scotland, which we hope we will, to get a degree of normality back by next summer we don’t know that that will be the case in all other parts of the world.
"It may still be the case that we would advise against travel for the same reasons that we wouldn’t want people to bring it back into Scotland.
"The near future is still quite uncertain and therefore I wouldn’t be giving people advice to book holidays for next summer quite at this point."
Ms Sturgeon's comments were echoed by National Clinical Director Jason Leitch, who said that people should not risk booking a non-refundable holiday for 2021, despite the fact he feels that "the world will look a lot different next summer”.
He added: "My advice has been in recent weeks and remains, don’t book a non-refundable holiday for next summer.
"I wouldn't commit. I'd be telling my family not to commit to a summer holiday".
Mr Leitch also reminded the public that as coronavirus is a "global problem", people could still be limited as to which places they will be allowed to travel to on their holidays in 2021.
He added: "I'm just not entirely sure of the timing and remember this is not a Scottish problem it is a global problem so where would you travel?
"There's going to be all kinds of challenges about what other countries have done with vaccination and immunity. So it's all very very complicated. So I would hold back for now and if you are going to book something I would make sure its non-refundable."
Both Jason Leitch and Nicola Sturgeon's comments come a Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) report revealed that the second wave of coronavirus infections in Scotland was caused largely by UK and international travel.
In reference to the report, the First Minister said that these journeys "reignited" the virus after it had been suppressed by the first nationwide lockdown.
