Renfrewshire is braced for a Boxing Day blow after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced tougher new curbs set to come into force.
Hogmanay hoolies have been called off for a second year as measures to slow the spread of the Omicron variant will force the cancellation of large-scale public events.
It comes as new figures reveal Renfrewshire has become a covid hotspot.
The area recorded 1,693 cases of coronavirus between December 12 and 18 - with a test positivity rate of 943.8 cases per 100,000 people.
Renfrewshire now ranks second only behind West Lothian on 1,030
Christmas will go-ahead but the advice to restrict celebrations to no more than three households remains.
Covid-hit St Mirren will also return to playing behind closed doors as spectators are locked out of sporting fixtures until at least mid-January.
Hospitality will also see a return to table service in pubs for an initial three-week spell.
The measures have been met with dismay by Tommy McCroy, who runs Paisley's Bungalow music venue.
He says the rules will not work for his business, telling the Express: "I think it will break a lot of people's spirit, they have been up against it for a long time and they thought they were coming out of it. It doesn't work for us, it doesn't work for places like ours."
Struggling Tommy said hospitality had already been too badly hit, adding: "We are already 50 per cent down and we are operating normally just now. We also make money at Christmas to see us through January and that isn't happening."
He said a generous funding package had to be available or businesses won't weather the storm, saying: "We are totally 100 per cent fed up. People have been tottering around the break even if they have managed to get there.
"People are going to have to make huge decisions."
His comments were echoed by businesswoman Colette Cardosi, of Paisley First, who said: "Colette Cardosi, Chair of Paisley First, said: “We appreciate that people remain cautious given public health concerns right now.
"However, our Paisley town centre businesses have worked extremely hard during the last 20 months to keep staff and customers safe and visitors can be assured that this always has been and remains a priority moving forward."
She added: "The continual changing of guidelines which are very unclear and confusing is causing a huge amount of added strain on businesses in the hospitality sector as we tried to make a valiant attempt to start some sort of recovery.
"My grave concern is that the financial support offered for businesses will simply not be sufficient for businesses to survive in the long run if we return to operating restrictions."
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There will also be limits to the number of people allowed to gather, with only 100 people permitted at indoor standing events, 200 at indoor seating events and a maximum of 500 allowed at outdoor events whether seated or standing.
So-called ' private life events', such as weddings, will not be hit by the curbs.
Residents are also being asked to "limit contacts" as much as possible between December 27 and the first week of January.
The First Minister admitted the restrictions would be tough, saying: "I am also acutely aware that these decisions - and the advice we are giving the public - have significant financial implications for many businesses."
The First Minister also said Christmas would remain “normal” for the public, but urged people once again to limit the number of people they interacted with to three households.
She told MSPs in Holyrood yesterday: “Just a few days before Christmas, I am again urging people to stay at home as much as possible, to slow down a highly infectious new variant.
“But, although it may not feel like it, we are in a much stronger position than last year.
“We have had far fewer restrictions in place for much of this year than was the case last year."
She also urged the public to get vaccinated as news broke of four hour long queues on Thursday at Paisley's Lagoon Centre as residents waited to get their jabs.
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