First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon has announced that, from 05:00 Monday 24 January, some restrictions in Scotland will be lifted, including:

• One metre physical distancing in hospitality and leisure settings and table service in hospitality venues will not be required
• Attendance limits at indoor events will be removed. Non-professional indoor contact sports will also resume
• Nightclubs can reopen. Whilst the Covid certification scheme will not be extended at this stage, regulations will be updated to ensure venues cannot avoid the scheme by putting tables on dancefloors whilst still allowing dancing
• People will continue to be asked to work from home whenever possible. The Scottish Government will engage with businesses now about a return to a more hybrid approach from the start of February if case numbers continue to decline
• The guidance to keep social interaction at home and in indoor public places to a maximum of three households is also being lifted. The public are being asked to be cautious and to limit contacts where possible, in addition to taking lateral flow tests before meeting people from other households.

Further baseline measures including a requirement to collect customer details in hospitality settings, the use of face coverings in public places and on public transport in addition to the current Covid certification scheme will remain in place.