Coronavirus: Nicola Sturgeon 'furious' at Aberdeen players as cluster grows

The number of cases in Aberdeen's Covid cluster has risen to 101 as Nicola Sturgeon said she was "furious" at footballers who broke lockdown rules.

The first minister said it was "unacceptable" that eight Aberdeen players had visited a bar in the city on Saturday night.

They are all now self-isolating after two tested positive for Covid-19.

Lockdown measures were reintroduced in the city on Wednesday as the number of cases in the cluster grew.

Ms Sturgeon told her daily briefing there had been an additional 22 cases in the last day, taking the total to 101.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Scotland rose by 43 on Friday, and no deaths were reported for the 22nd consecutive day.

Ms Sturgeon said 27 of the confirmed cases were in the Grampian area, although it was not yet clear how many were connected to the Aberdeen outbreak.

The Aberdeen players who are self-isolating had visited the city's Soul bar on Saturday.

Images were shared on social media showing queues of people gathered outside the bar, which is one of about 30 venues now linked to the cluster.

Ms Sturgeon said: "It is now clear that all eight of these players visited a bar in Aberdeen on Saturday night.

"In doing so they blatantly broke the rules that had been agreed between the SFA, the SPFL, and the Scottish government, which, to put it mildly, is completely unacceptable."

The first minister said she supported the decision to cancel the club's match with St Johnstone this weekend.

"We are asking members of the public to behave in a highly precautionary manner," she said.

"When a football club ends up with players infected with Covid - and let's remember this is not through bad luck but through clear breaches of the rules - we cannot take even a small risk that they then spread the infection to other parts of the country."

Ms Sturgeon added that she was "pretty furious" at the situation - and that if players did not abide by the rules, they were putting the return of the professional game at risk.

Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack said he had apologised to football and health authorities, and to the other Premiership clubs.

"Regrettably, what has happened in the last few days has undermined all the hard work that has gone into keeping our players and staff safe," he said.

"We are now dealing with this internally with the seriousness it deserves.

"In the meantime, I'd like to reassure the relevant bodies, our fans and everyone associated with the club that our already rigorous measures are being forensically scrutinised and that no stone will be left unturned in ensuring that no-one is under any doubt about what must be adhered to."

The coronavirus cluster in Aberdeen has been linked to pubs and restaurants.

A list has been published of premises visited by people confirmed to have the virus. They are:

The list also includes Aboyne, Deeside and Hazlehead golf clubs, and the Banks O'Dee Football Club.

Anyone who had visited any of these premises should be "extra vigilant for symptoms" - even if they had not been contacted by specialist tracers.

The lockdown restrictions which have been reimposed for the city's 228,000 residents include:

The restrictions will be reviewed next Wednesday and may be extended further if required.