Scots have been asked to limit the number of households they interact with as much as possible to combat the spread of coronavirus.
Nicola Sturgeon gave a statement to the Scottish Parliament this afternoon where she detailed new restrictions and advice ahead of Christmas.
It comes in the wake of growing concerns surrounding the Omicron variant, which the First Minister said is "spreading very rapidly".
Speaking to MSPs, the First Minister appealed to people to "reduce as far as possible, and to a minimum, the contacts we have with people in other households".
If socialising, the First Minister asked people to limit the number of households in each group to three households and to take a lateral flow test before meeting.
However, she stressed that she was not asking for people to "'cancel' Christmas".
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She said: "I want to be clear, I am not asking anyone to ‘cancel’ Christmas - but in the run up to and in the immediate aftermath of Christmas, I am asking everyone to reduce as far as possible, and to a minimum, the contacts we have with people in other households."
"We are not banning or restricting household mixing in law as before. We understand the negative impact this has on mental health and wellbeing.
"But we are asking everyone - and we will issue strong guidance to this effect - to cut down as far as possible the number of people outside our own households that we are interacting with just now.
"This will help break transmission chains.
"So my key request today is this - before and immediately after Christmas, please minimise your social mixing with other households as much as you can.
"However, if you do plan on socialising - either at home or in indoor public places - we are asking that you limit the number of households represented in your group to a maximum of three. And make sure you test before you go."
The First Minister acknowledged the "tough" advice, but said it was due to the "very high attack rate" on Omicron.
She confirmed the estimated the doubling time of the Omicron variant is two to three days - the most rapid transmissibility seen during the pandemic.
Ms Sturgeon continued: "I know this is a tough thing to ask people to do, especially at this time of year. So I want to be clear why we are doing it.
"One of the things we have already learned about Omicron is that it has a very high attack rate.
"That means if just one person in a gathering is infectious, that person is likely to infect many more people in the group than was the case with the Delta variant.
"So by reducing the numbers of people and households gathering together, we help limit the extent of its spread.
Follow our live blog for the full statement by Nicola Sturgeon today and all the latest updates on the pandemic.
