Covid in Scotland: Enjoy Christmas but be careful says health chief

Scots can celebrate Christmas but should be "cautious" to keep the Omicron variant at bay, National Clinical Director Jason Leitch said.

Prof Leitch said it was "impossible" to cancel Christmas and people were free to gather to celebrate with loved ones.

"How you do that is up to you, but we're asking you to be as careful and as cautious as you can be," he said.

Prof Leitch said he had faith that Scots knew how to keep safe and would not "throw caution to the wind".

It came after daily Covid cases in Scotland hit a four month high and the number of people to have contracted Omicron exceeded 6,000.

The rapid rise of the Omicron variant of Covid has led to a new set of restrictions on gatherings which will kick in from Sunday 26 December.

These involve limits on the size of public events which have effectively closed most concerts, shows and sporting events.

The latest event to cancel is the Strathpuffer 24 hour bike challenge in the Highlands in January.

Organisers said in theory they could still go ahead with their plans but "just because we can doesn't mean we should".

They said they did not want to risk piling extra pressure on the health service, or to further spread Covid in the local community where virus levels are relatively low.

The Scottish Football Premier League will stage matches on Boxing Day (26 December) with maximum crowds of just 500. They will then bring forward their Winter break, resuming fixtures on 17 January.

Other restrictions, from Monday 27 December, mean that pubs and restaurants will need to return to table service, physical distancing and small groups. Nightclubs will close unless they can meet the same restrictions.

Prof Leitch said the advice was to minimise contact with others as much as possible, get a booster vaccination and take a lateral flow test before meeting other people.

He encouraged people to get their booster vaccination but said they were not being offered on Christmas Day and Boxing Day because those days are "just not very popular".

The national clinical director said there had been lots of spare appointments on Christmas Eve because people had not wanted to get their jab so close to the festivities.

Prof Leitch said the PCR testing system was very busy due to the rise in Omicron cases and was "reaching the top of its ability" but he urged people to take a test if they had symptoms.

Testing sites remain open every day during the Christmas and new year period, although times are reduced.

They will be open 10:00 to 14:00 on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, extending to 08:00 to 18:00 for the rest of the year.

In her Christmas message, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon: "I know that, even three or four weeks ago, all of us were looking forward to a fairly normal Christmas. I am so sorry that this year's won't be quite like that.

"But for many of us, because of vaccination, it will still be more much normal than last year."

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: "With the Omicron variant spreading fast, this is far from the normal Christmas that we were all hoping for even a few, short weeks ago.

"But after last year's long winter lockdown, we will all relish being able to spend some time with our loved ones, albeit responsibly."

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: "Christmas is a time for celebration, a time for coming together and a time for hope. But this Christmas will be different.

"While many will be able to be together this year, many will still be making that difficult choice to stay apart again, putting their health and the health of their loved ones first."