received that i and my cabinet have received today about the new variant of the covid virus that has been identified in the uk suggests to me that we now do face a very serious situation. it is, in fact, do face a very serious situation. it is, infact, probably do face a very serious situation. it is, in fact, probably the most serious and potentially dangerous juncture we have faced since the start of the covid pandemic in february and march. that means we have to take this seriously and it means that we have to act accordingly and appropriately. the upside, although i appreciate that given what i am about to set out to you, it may seem appropriate to be talking about upsides, but the upside is that if we do act now and you aren't from now, we cannot prevent that serious situation and materialising. —— we can prevent. the advantage we have in scotland,

unlike some other parts of the uk right now, we still do have a chance to act on a preventative basis. i wa nt to to act on a preventative basis. i want to set out clearly to you today what, no for scotland, the current situation is. i will also set out, in light of an assessment of that situation, i consider that very firm preventative action is now necessary. i was then outlined to you the action that the cabinet has agreed this afternoon to take. as i set out in parliament firm earlier this week, covid cases in scotland had been falling earlier this week asa had been falling earlier this week as a result of the tougher restrictions that everyone has been living under. but in the most recent week, those cases have been starting to rise again in parts of the country. it was as a result of that that a number of local authorities turned into tighter level three restrictions, and that took effect yesterday, and a number of others, a

larger number of others, were required to stay in level 3 restrictions. however, notwithstanding that, it is also the case that the situation in scotland right now, at this moment in time, is not as severe as it is in other parts of the uk. cases per 100,000 of the population in scotland around half the number that we currently see in england and around a third of the numbers being experienced in wales. 0ur statistics today, which we re wales. 0ur statistics today, which were published earlier this afternoon, 572 new cases, representing li% of all tests carried out yesterday, suggests a broadly sta ble out yesterday, suggests a broadly stable position. so, all things being equal, while we had no room for complacency, we had hoped we might get it through the next few weeks, at least in many parts of the country, without significantly more severe restrictions being a necessary. u nfortu nately, severe restrictions being a necessary. unfortunately, so so often in the case with this virus,

all things are not proving to be equal. last week, it was confirmed that a new variant of the virus had been identified in the uk and on tuesday, i advised been identified in the uk and on tuesday, iadvised parliament been identified in the uk and on tuesday, i advised parliament that a small number of cases of that new strain had already been identified in scotland. 0ver last night and today, the governments of the four nations across the uk have received further scientific briefing on the impact of this new strain. uk chief scientific advisor updated a four nations meeting that i participated in this morning, and the chief medical officer has updated the scottish government cabinet this afternoon. it is important for me to be clear that, at this stage, there is no evidence to suggest that this new strain of the virus causes more severe illness and there is no evidence at this stage to suggest that the new strain will affect the effectiveness of the vaccines that are being developed or the vaccine thatis are being developed or the vaccine that is currently in use in

scotland. all of that is reassuring, although further analysis is under way. however, there is strong evidence now that the new strain is spreading substantially and significantly more quickly than the strains of the virus that we have been dealing with up to now. that evidence suggests that it could be up evidence suggests that it could be up to 70% more transmissible than previous strains of the virus. and it may increase the r number by up to 0.4. now, it is believed that there is a faster transmission may be driving the rapidly deteriorating situation in the south of england, including london and wales, where we already see cases rising quickly and hospitals under very severe and growing pressure. now, we do not yet know how widely this new strain of the virus is circulating in scotland. the latest information is

that 17 cases have been identified in scotland through gene sequencing. but we have to be realistically that thatis but we have to be realistically that that is likely to be an understatement of its true prevalence right now. that also is that the strain, albeit that it may be at lower levels than some other parts of the uk, is present here in scotla nd parts of the uk, is present here in scotland and therefore does pose a risk to us if we do not act and act firmly. and while further analysis is required to establish this one way or the other, we do already have a concern that this strain may be driving what be appears to us already a faster transmission of covid in hospitals and also care homes. given that this strain is circulating, we know widely already in some parts of the uk, and given we know it is already seated in scotla nd we know it is already seated in scotland and is already circulating, albeit perhaps at a lower level in

scotland, the bottom line that we face right now is this — if we don't act firmly and decisively now to stop it transmitting, it will take told here. if that happens, the rapidly worsening situation that we see unfolding right now in wales, london and the south east of england will ta ke and the south east of england will take place here too. that will mean many more people getting covid in the weeks ahead and would mean that, by january, our nhs the weeks ahead and would mean that, byjanuary, our nhs could potentially be overwhelmed, which we have of course managed to avoid at every stage so far of the pandemic banner. it every stage so far of the pandemic it would also mean many more people dying of this virus than would otherwise be the case. to those who will understandably look at our case

levels in scotland and say this action is not justified levels in scotland and say this action is notjustified because our current case levels are relatively low, i would say this he's four weeks ago, london's cases were very low too and now are running out of control. that is what we face, u nfortu nately control. that is what we face, unfortunately in the face of this very severe warning today we do nothing. that is why the cabinet has decided today that further action is necessary and that that action requires to be four. it is true to say that this action is not solely in response to the severity of our current situation, nor is it simply a worry about greater interaction over the christmas period in and of itself. it is a very firmly action designed to prevent things getting worse, potentially very quickly getting worse, as a result of this new strain. i know that accepting greater restrictions on this basis, not as a result of what is happening in the here and now, but to stop a situation deteriorating, is hard for people to accept, i really understand that. but most important thing we have learned through the pandemic is that failing to act quickly, decisively and

preve ntatively quickly, decisively and preventatively in the face of this virus is always a mistake. if i could have my time all over again, i would act more quickly in february and early march, and it's important we do take the warning we have been given now seriously and make appropriate actions. my judgment given now seriously and make appropriate actions. myjudgment is, if we do nothing or too little now, knowing what we know about the new strain, things will get worse and be much worse than they need to be. but if we do act now, we have a chance of keeping the situation under control while the vaccination programme continues to make progress and get case numbers back to very low levels again. that's why we have decided to act and act firmly. the action we propose and i about to set out is designed to do two things, and both of these are important. firstly, the action is designed to prevent more of this new strain entering scotland from parts of the uk where we know it is already

circulating more widely. second, given that we know it is already present in scotland, albeit we think in lower numbers right now, this action is designed to reduce the risk of it spreading any further here within scotland. set out what the cabinet has decided. firstly, we are asking everyone to redouble your personal efforts in sticking to the rules and following the facts. that may sound obvious, but it is really important, that means staying out of each other‘s houses, abiding by travel restrictions, keeping a safe distance from people in other households and following all the hygiene advice really strictly. if you have been letting your guard down, which, given what we have all lived under now for so long that might be understandable, please lift your card again. it is important now as it was back in february and march that we follow all that advice very

strictly. secondly, in orderto reduce the risk of more of this strain of being imported into scotland, we intend to maintain a strict travel ban between scotland and the rest of the uk. u nfortu nately, and the rest of the uk. unfortunately, and i am genuinely sorry about this, that ban will remain in place right through the festive period. we simply cannot risk more of this new strain entering the country if we can possibly avoid it. that means people from scotland not visiting other parts of the uk and vice versa. cross—border travel for all but the most essential purposes is not permitted. were also asking police scotla nd permitted. were also asking police scotland and other transport operators to consider how this can be strengthened in the period ahead, although how that is done is an operational matter for the chief co nsta ble. operational matter for the chief constable. will also be urgently reviewing the position on international travel and i will update on that early next week. but in the meantime, my strong advice continues to be against nonessential

foreign travel. thirdly, we have already advised that, where possible, people should celebrate christmas at home, in their own household and meet with others outdoors only. the five—day flexibility from the 23rd to the 27th was planned to recognise the impact of loneliness and the difficulty i know we all feel about leaving loved ones alone over christmas. however, earlierweek this week we advise people should meet indoors with other households if at all on no more than one takes over the five—day period. given the new information, we now intend to change the law so that people and bubbles will mix only from midnight christmas eve into midnight boxing day. the prime minister has announced that will not

even be allowed. we will allow christmas day to go ahead but as we have said from the start, only use this flexibility if you really truly need to. this new strain makes that message all the more important. 0ur advice is still not to meet indoors, even on christmas day with other households, if you can possibly avoid it. if you have people travelling to join you for christmas from elsewhere in the uk, that will no longer be permitted. equally, it will be no longer permitted for any of us to travel to anywhere in the rest of the uk for christmas. we simply cannot take the rest of this train travelling from different parts of the uk. if you decide to travel within scotland, that will be allowed on christmas day only. if you can make it there and back —— if you can make it there and back —— if you can't make it there and back on the same day, please don't go. we are asking you not to do that unless there is no alternative. 0n christmas day, the household limits will still apply as we set out for

the five day period, a maximum of eight people from three households will be the law but our advice would be to minimise those numbers as much as possible. standing here saying this, it makes me want to cry as i am sure listening to it many of you will want to cry because i know how harsh this sounds. i know how unfair it is. but this virus is unfair, does none —— it doesn't care about christmas, it doesn't care about anything other than spreading itself wide and far as possible and it has become a lot better at doing that. 0ne become a lot better at doing that. one other point i want to make is that if you have caring responsibilities, you can, as has a lwa ys responsibilities, you can, as has always been the case, still visit somebody else and travel to do that on any day, if it is essential to provide care or assistance to a vulnerable person. but for everyone else, my message is please stay home and stay safe this christmas. that is in your own interests and in the interests of everybody you love.

beyond christmas, because of this new strain, we needed to make some changes and this is my fourth point today. a limit as far as we can the risk of the strain spreading further thanit risk of the strain spreading further than it has a within scotland, we intend to apply level four measures to all of mainland scotland for a period of three weeks from one minute after midnight on boxing day morning. the exceptions to that will be 0rkney, shetland and the western isles and the other island communities where we have reduced restrictions in recent weeks. these areas will go to level three with strict restrictions on who can travel to and from them. all of these levels will be reviewed after two weeks. typically, that means from boxing day morning, this includes boxing day, nonessential shops will close, as will pubs, cafes a nd restau ra nts. ta keaway shops will close, as will pubs, cafes and restaurants. takeaway food will continue to be allowed. finally, since the summer, we have been determined to keep schools

open. that remains our determination. we have asked adults to bear a greater burden of restrictions so we can afford to keep pupils in our classrooms. the situation about this new strain means until we are sure we have that than the under control, until we are sure we are not facing the same situation in the south of england or wales, we must slightly change our plans for how schools will operate over the christmas —— after the christmas period. schools will close on schedule as previously planned, we are not changed that. they were due to reopen on the 5th ofjanuary with all council areas backed by the 7th of january. instead with all council areas backed by the 7th ofjanuary. instead of with all council areas backed by the 7th of january. instead of that, here is what we are now going to do. for the children of key workers, nurses in our hospitals, for example, schools will open and stay open as previously scheduled. they will open as normalfor open as previously scheduled. they will open as normal for the open as previously scheduled. they will open as normalfor the most vulnerable children. all teachers will return to work as scheduled and is planned. however, for the majority of pupils, the holiday

period will be extended until the 11th of january, and starting on that date, learning will be online until at least the 18th of january. after that, assuming we are confident we have the virus under control, we will aim to reopen schools fully, but at least until the 18th of january, schools will go online only, other than for the children of key workers in the most vulnerable. thank you for bearing with me. i'm going to ask the chief medical officer and the national clinical director to say a word or two after me. i have taken a bit of time to set all this out because i know how difficult the s, and that is where i want to conclude. i know this is difficult because it is christmas, i know it is difficult because it involves greater restrictions for a period after christmas, and i know it is also difficult because right now, as of now, our case numbers look as if they are not as bad as elsewhere and

therefore, i understand people will be thinking, is this necessary? please believe me when i tell you, with every fibre of my being, i would not be standing here on the saturday before christmas and is on this if i did not think this was necessary. i have spent, as all of you have, many anxious and worried days over the course of the past ten months, but i have rarely felt more worried since much earlier in the year as i have today. if we don't act now firmly and decisively, this new strain is transmitting so quickly that it will very quickly overwhelm us. i want to do everything i can to reduce that possibility and that is why these very difficult but very necessary measures are being outlined today. i briefed the leaders of the opposition parties earlier on, i will set out to parliament as and when the presiding officer thinks thatis when the presiding officer thinks that is necessary, but i didn't want to leave any time before setting out to leave any time before setting out to you, the public, watch these

plans hours, particularly given the proximity to christmas. i know how difficult this was always going to be but now particular it will be even more difficult. i am genuinely sorry about that but we must take care, collectively, to stop this virus overwhelming us, to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe and to stop people dying unnecessarily, and therefore, i ask you to bear with us as we try to navigate our way through this next difficult stage of this pandemic. my final point is this. i said a couple of times in recent weeks that there isa of times in recent weeks that there is a light, in fact i had so many times in recent weeks, there is light at the end of the tunnel. it has not gone out, the vaccination programme will pick up pace as we go into january. but i have also said they will be times, because we are still in its pandemic, where the light will be difficult to see, that is the stage we're at now. we cannot see the light at the moment, it is obscured because of these

difficulties, but it hasn't gone out, it is still there, we do have brighter times ahead, but in order to get as safely as possible to the brighter times, i need to ask you for more sacrifices for a period. thank you so much for listening. the chief medical officer will say are the words and then a national clinical director and then we will ta ke clinical director and then we will take questions from journalists, as normal. the uk... between five and 10% of all viral isolates, the uk are subjected to genomic sequences so we can are subjected to genomic sequences so we can learn are subjected to genomic sequences so we can learn more are subjected to genomic sequences so we can learn more about the virus in the way it behaves. the uk accounts for ad and 20,000 of the known genomes of this virus that are available on the worldwide database. since we learned about this new variant of the coronavirus on monday, there has been a huge amount of work to understand its behaviour and characteristics more clearly.

the uk clinical committee —— committee that considers threats posed by viruses considered the available evidence and data around thisjust yesterday. available evidence and data around this just yesterday. viruses of all kinds mutate commonly. when those mutations come, there are three broad considerations that need to be examined more closely. what does the mutation in the transmission of the virus? what does it mean for the severity of the disease associated with a virus? and what does it mean for the pre—existing immunity, vaccines and treatments to mark will say a bit more in a second but i wanted to buy the first two elements. there is no —— now moderate to high confidence that this evidence —— this new variant is more transmissible. that appears to be up to 70% of transmissibility associated with this particular variant. in simple terms, it appears to be able to spread more easily

than the virus we have become used to over the last ten months. there has been a very rapid rise in the south—east of england and we have heard from nicola sturgeon as well. let's cross straight to our correspondent james cook who has been following that press conference so far. james, just take us through the key points then. let's look at what is happening here, and what is happening is in broad terms come relatively similar to what the prime minister boris johnson has announced, i'll be at the first minister was at pains to point of the situation here in scotla nd point of the situation here in scotland was not yet as serious as that in london, the southeast and the east of england. she said that 17 cases of this new variant of a new more transmissible variant of the virus had been detected in scotland, but given how transmissible it was can be given the concern about how fast it was spreading in the southeast of

england, she said she was bringing in measures here and those measures include, and this will come as a blow to many people of course in the country, those measures include squeezing that period of her christmas when indoor socialising will be allowed from five days to just christmas day itself. the first minister said the statutory limits on that indoor mixing during which people should be very careful, she says maintaining social distancing and so on, those limits would remain ata and so on, those limits would remain at a maximum of three households and at a maximum of three households and a maximum of three people age 12 and over. the first minister had been clear a ll over. the first minister had been clear all along, she does not think we should mix at all on christmas day or any other day at the moment, and she was making that point again just there in the news conference. 0ther just there in the news conference. other points while she announced a ban on travel between scotland and all other parts of the uk, and she said that she was looking at the potential for how she could bring in

some type of or the implication was some type of or the implication was some type of travel ban for people planning to go to or from the country abroad as well. at the moment, to be honest with you, a large part of the country is under restrictions travel even between council areas between scotland, 80% of the country living over those restrictions at the moment. she just thinks he suggested the tougher enforcement of this travel ban. also said that men then scotland will be going into level four, that's the toughest level of restrictions under the current framework in scotland. from boxing day and remained there for three weeks. and she also come in the first minister, told us that what her plans were in terms of education she said that for children of key workers and the most vulnerable pupils they would be returning to school as normal on the 5th of january, but other pupils would have to wait until the 11th

before they return, and that education would begin online. and would continue online for at least a week. just to sum up, quite a lot to ta ke week. just to sum up, quite a lot to take in their but it's tighter restrictions, christmas day only for indoor mixed—income of the first minister says she does not think we should be doing it, she won't be seeing her own paris she says. so tighter and tougher restrictions, that's what's happening. 0k tighter and tougher restrictions, that's what's happening. ok but, thank you very much for that summary. and just returning to nick who is still here with me in the studio. as expected, and scotland we have also heard from wales, just remind us where we are then. extraordinary movement in less of 72 hours because remember her wednesday and thursday we were talking about a lot more strict messaging, but the christmas relaxation was still largely going ahead. that has

changed. we now have vast swathes of the uk facing imminent lockdowns, so in england if you have tier 3just now or in the east or london you are facing tier 4. if you are in scotland you are facing lockdown across the mainland from boxing day. in wales facing lockdown from tonight. just looking in a message from our local correspondent in northern ireland who says that there's no plans for changes they are just yet. that's a huge, huge change and effectively means that for millions of people the festive period is going to be considerably different from many what i have a vintage this morning. a very stark message and it's in responsive to concerns. the rate at the virus is spreading and also the extent to which this new variant of coronavirus seems to be spreading in a southeast of england. remember

it's not necessarily more lethal or going to impact the vaccine roll—out but the real fear that this site is haveisis but the real fear that this site is have is is spreading a lot quicker. and what was interesting is that many people think it's isolated to the southeast and london, but when you heard nicola sturgeon speaking there she is the new variant has succeeded in scotland, they picked up succeeded in scotland, they picked up 70 new cases. dropping your guard should something we cannot afford to do. —— 17 cases. should something we cannot afford to do. -- 17 cases. she was bringing in these restrictions, perhaps one of these restrictions, perhaps one of the most significant was the travel ban between scotland and anywhere else in the uk. effectively means anyone england going to scotland is not going to be old to do so now. that's because she said it does not wa nt that's because she said it does not want to run the risk of this new variant could be taken from parts of england into scotland. there are

some cases there, she thinks that isolated, she's worried that it could spread further. again the scottish government has changed its position a lot since thursday. boris johnson has changed his position, and from a pupils will be a big shock. a big change our lives the next few weeks. leaving it there for now, a lot of reaction coming in but we will talk about that in the next hour or for we will talk about that in the next hour orfor news. for we will talk about that in the next hour or for news. for now thank you very much indeed. let's catch up with the weather. have have seen a recent days are working to our river catchments causing a issues we've got similar flooding billing income you can see the rivers coming of the banks here in worcestershire. it is notjust the midlands we are seeing flood warnings, government force in england, wales and scotland. about 30 enforce the moment. to his bidet at such under showers and overnight the showers will continue to be driven on the strong gusty wind.

driest weather across eastern areas, nor particularly cold or overnight lows across four to six celsius for most. tomorrow, another day of sunshine and showers and, again, the showers will be most frequent across the northwest and showers tending to merge together to give some longer spells of rain 0cclude a nationwide, heise between

covid virus that has been identified in the uk

this is bbc news. the headlines at 6... nearly 18 million people in london and south—east england move into stricter tier 4 restrictions from midnight — people must stay at home and non—essential shops have to close. for those in tier 4, it means the relaxation of rules at christmas has been scrapped and reduced to one day, the 25th, for the rest of england. we must be realistic. we're sacrificing the chance to see our loved ones this christmas so we have a better chance of protecting their lives so that we can see them at future christmases. the new restrictions are due to a spike in cases that's