First Minister warns ‘hard but necessary’ decisions needed to avoid full-scale lockdown

First Minster Nicola Sturgeon.

First Minster Nicola Sturgeon has give the nation advanced notice that the coming days are likely to see some “hard but necessary” decisions to fight rising Covid-19 numbers. 

Ms Sturgeon used her lunchtime briefing today to urge folk to stick to the current guidelines. saying the coming days would be “critical” in determining  how to break the upward cycle. 

With numbers rising across the UK, including Scotland, where the crucial R number is now above 1, Ms Sturgeon said “doing nothing almost certainly isn’t an option”.

She said it was important to take action in order to stop another full blown lockdown, particularly so that schools could continue. 

Ms Sturgeon advised people to avoid all non-essential travel, particularly in areas where the number of cases is growing quickly. 

She has asked Prime Minister Boris Johnston to chair a Cobra meeting this weekend and expects meetings to be held with all four parts of the UK in the coming days.