Nicola Sturgeon delivered an address to the nation with an impassioned plea for Scots to stick together and follow new restrictions aimed at beating the spread of coronavirus.
The First Minister kicked off her broadcast this evening by thanking the public for months of effort in turning the tide against the deadly bug.
But although she said Scots' efforts have hammered down infections, Sturgeon warned “the challenge is once again getting harder.”
She said: "I know that all of this has been incredibly tough – and six months on it only gets tougher. But never forget that humanity has come through even bigger challenges than this one.
"And though it doesn’t feel like it now, this virus will pass. It won’t last forever and one day, hopefully soon, we will be looking back on it, not living through it."
"So though we are all struggling with this – and believe me, we are all struggling – let’s pull together.
“Let’s keep going, try to keep smiling, keep hoping and keep looking out for each other.
“Be strong, be kind and let’s continue to act out of love and solidarity.
She added: "So though we are all struggling with this – and believe me, we are all struggling – let’s pull together.
"Let's keep going, try to keep smiling, keep hoping and keep looking out for each other. Be strong, be kind and let’s continue to act out of love and solidarity.
"I will never find the words to thank all of you enough for the enormous sacrifices you have made so far. And I am sorry to be asking for more.
"But a belief I hold on to – and one I am asking you to keep faith with in those moments when it all feels too hard – is this. If we stick with it – and, above all, if we stick together – we will get through it."
It came after Boris Johnson went for the Conservative spirit of Churchillian unity in an attempt to pull the UK together in his own TV address.
As he appealed to the public to obey the "simple rules" for survival, he said: "Never in our history has our collective destiny and our collective health depended so completely on our individual behaviour."
