More restrictions to be introduced between Boxing Day and New Year

Folk will be asked to stay inside as much as possible after Boxing Day, including at New Year, as the Scottish government deals with rising Covid cases.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Tuesday that New Year events, including Edinburgh’s Hogmanay party, will not be able to go ahead.

Limits on the number of people able to attend indoor and outdoor events will be introduced from Boxing Day.

And bars and restaurants which serve alcohol will be asked to return to table service only from 27th December for three weeks at least.

Groups of people will be limited to three households again.

Non-professional indoor contact sports will be asked to stop for a period of three weeks as well.

Ms Sturgeon said the new curbs were essential to limit the spread of Omicron, which she said now accounted for almost 63 per cent of all Scotland’s Covid cases.

Indoor standing events will be limited to 100 people, indoor seated events will be limited to 200 and any outdoor events, such as football matches, will be limited to just 500.

Events such as weddings will not be affected, however.

The UK government announced a £1bn funding boost for Covid-hit businesses on Tuesday, but Ms Sturgeon said that did not appear to offer any new funding for Scotland.