this is bbc news. the headlines: borisjohnson defends the government's decision not to impose further covid restrictions in england before the new year and says as many as 90% of those seriously ill haven't had a third vaccine dose. the overwhelming majority of people who are currently ending up in intensive care in our hospitals are people who are not boosted. but the scottish parliament is being recalled to address the record numbers of covid infections in the country. nicola sturgeon is due to speak shortly. we'll bring that to you live. high demand for covid pcr tests leaves people waiting for days and pharmacists warn of patchy supplies of rapid testing kits following changes

to self—isolation rules. i also summarised the protective measures which took effect earlier this week to slow is to spread and provide some further detail of the support available to businesses. finally i will report on the delivery of booster vaccinations. first, today's statistics. 15,819 positive cases were reported yesterday. 28.9% of all tests carried out. it's worth noting the much higher test positivity experienced over recent days may be

partially explained by people being more selective about when to go for a test over the christmas period. however, this is by some margin the highest overall daily case number reported in the pandemic to date. 679 people are currently in hospital with covid which is 80 more than yesterday and 36 people are in intensive care, when fewer than yesterday. i will say more shortly about the numbers of people with covid in hospital and why this is an important indicator as we judge the most proportionate response going forward. sadly though, a further three deaths have been reported taking the total number of deaths to 9836. once again i want to send my condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one. it's clearfrom condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one. it's clear from these figures that the wave of 0micron that has been predicted is now rapidly developing. 0micron now accounts for around 80% of all cases

and over the past week the number of reported cases of covid overall has increased by 47%. we should also bearin increased by 47%. we should also bear in mind that any transmission over recent days will not yet be fully evident in the reported figures so it is reasonable to assume that we will continue to see increases in cases in the days and weeks ahead. that said, it is also important to remember that our individual and collective behaviour will influence how fast or otherwise the virus spreads. the current surge would almost certainly be higher but for so many people following advice to cut down on social interactions in the run—up to christmas. given the speed and extent of the transmission we are experiencing now it is really vital that we all continue to take sensible precautions and limit social interactions for a further period as

we learn more about the likely impact of this wave of infection and as we complete the booster vaccination programme. 0bviously one of the fact is we are looking at most closely is the proportion of 0micron cases that require hospital treatment. this will tell us more about the severity of 0micron for individuals and also about the overall impact it is likely to have on the nhs. this will therefore inform our ongoing response. before i say more about that it is worth emphasising that there are other reasons to do what we can at this stage to slow down the spread. firstly whatever the overall impact of 0micron turns out to be, we know that this virus will cause serious illness and death for some and we also know that for others long covid will cause ongoing suffering. high levels of infection and sickness absence will be disruptive to the

economy and the delivery of critical services and i will say more later about how we are seeking to mitigate this. as things stand, none of us should be complacent about getting covid. we should take steps to avoid it if we can. there is no doubt the data we are looking at most closely just now is the conversion of cases into hospital admissions. there are here some grounds for optimism. 0ver here some grounds for optimism. over the past week studies have suggested the past week studies have suggested the risk of hospitalisation from 0micron is lower than for other strains of the virus. what is not yet fully understood is why this might be the case, whether it is because 0micron is inherently less severe or because of its ability to infect those who had prior infections or been vaccinated which means that more of those who get it carry a level of immunity that protect them from more serious illness. we don't yet know the

answer to that but either way, if it is the case that a much lower proportion of people with 0micron need hospital care compared to other strains of the virus, that is really good news especially as 0micron is now the dominant strain and good news both in terms of individual health and overall impact. and of course it would inform how we respond in the weeks ahead. however, and this remains key, for at least the next few weeks we do need to show caution as we assess in real—time the impact these higher case numbers will have on the nhs. it is encouraging that at least until now the rise in cases experienced over the past few weeks has not translated into a corresponding rise in hospital admissions or occupancy and the number of people in hospital with covid has so far remained broadly stable. again, we do need to

exercise caution. the numbers in hospital with covid in england is now rising show —— sharply which may be a sign of things to come here and today's report increase in hospital occupancy here of 80 is the biggest increase we have seen for some time. we also know there is a time lag between rising cases and rising hospital admissions. and in terms of sheer numbers the benefits of a lower rate of hospitalisation could be quickly cancelled out by the much higher case numbers resulting from significantly increased transmissibility. so we will monitor all of this data very carefully in the days to come as well as looking at headline numbers we will be interrogating the detail, for example the breakdown between those in hospital because of covid and those in hospital who have covid but who were admitted for different reasons. we will also look at

whether the average length of stay in hospitalfor whether the average length of stay in hospital for those with 0micron is different to other variants. all in all, i would expect that within the next couple of weeks we will have a clearer picture and this will then help us reach informed judgments about the most proportionate response going forward. in the meantime, while we're better understand the impact and while more and more of us get the added protection of booster vaccinations which will of course help reduce the impact of 0micron, we must try to avoid the sheer volume of cases overwhelming us. that is why it is prudent and i would say it is essential that we do act to slow transmission at this stage as much as possible. that is why additional protections were announced last week and are now enforced. it's also why over hogmanay and new year's day and for at least the first week of january we are advising everyone to stay at

home more than normal, reduce contact with people outside our own households and to limit the size of any indoor social gatherings that do take place so that they don't include people from any more than three households. also try to ventilate indoor spaces as much as possible and it remains our strong advice that lateral flow tests should be taken just before meeting up should be taken just before meeting up with anyone from another household. if that shows a positive result it is vital to immediately isolate and book a pcr test. you should also isolate and book a pcr test if you have symptoms that might be covid. following this advice is difficult and frustrating but it is even harder at this time of year but it really does help and it will be helping already notwithstanding these very high case numbers. so please stick with it for now. in addition to this general advice to the public the new protective

measures to hospitality and public indoor places and live events i set out last week are now in force. we will review these on an ongoing basis but at this stage our expectation is that we will be —— they will be in force until the 17th of january. they will be in force until the 17th ofjanuary. that they will be in force until the 17th of january. that means limits on the size of live public events but weddings are exempt. for indoor standing event is the limit is 100 indoor seated events 20a outdoor events 500 seated or standing. i know some question the rationale for this so let me set it out again. firstly, the higher transmissibility of 0micron means that large gatherings have a much greater potential to become rapid super spreader events. second, there are transmission risks associated with travel to and from such events and thirdly we do play significant demands on emergency services such as the police and the amblin service and at a time when emergency

services are already dealing with high levels of staff absence due to the virus, not having large—scale public events allows the services to focus on the delivery of core services to the public. as well as limit on large events, further protections are in place for hospitality under the indoor public places. table service has been reintroduced for venues that sell alcohol and guidance has been issued to the effect that in the hospitality and leisure venues should ensure one metre distance between different groups of customers. finally, unfortunately nightclubs are now closed until the 17th of january unless they have decided to remain open without dancing as hospitality premises, in which case they will be required to follow the same rules and guidance as other hospitality venues. all of these protections are important to

help us deal with and reduce the impact of the public health challenge that covid represents. however we also have a very significant impact on businesses. two weeks ago i announced £100 million to support businesses affected by the advice to minimise contacts over the festive period. we have detailed the allocation of that. last week i announced a further £275 million of support and i can give some further detailed today of how the first 100 million of that additional support is being allocated. £16 million will be made available to support public transport providers through existing covid support schemes. £27 million will go to the culture sector and a further £70 million to the events sector. a further £32 million will be allocated to hospitality and leisure businesses with an additional 10 million for those parts of the hospitality industry

most severely impacted by the requirement for table service. up to 5 million will be allocated to nightclubs required to close. we are also working closely with the sports sector, sporting events are obviously affected by the limit on spectators and also by cancellations due to covid absences. however we also know that some of this impact will be alleviated by the rescheduling of events so we want to make sure that the support we provide is effectively targeted and we will be confirming further details soon. in total we have now reached decisions on the allocation of 207 million of the 375 million being made available for business support and councils are now working to get that money into bank accounts as fast as possible. decisions on the allocation of the remaining funds will be confirmed following consultation with affected sectors on how it can be best targeted. i know how difficult all of this is

for business and i really wish it wasn't necessary and i hope it's not necessary for long, but there simply isn't an easy trade—off between protecting health and protecting the economy. if covid continues to spread rapidly the economic impact in the form of staff absences and diminished consumer confidence will be severe and we are already seeing those impacts. doing nothing won't help business. we must protect public health and the economy together by slowing the speed at which covid is spreading while we complete the booster programme. there are two further issues i want to touch on this afternoon. i mentioned earlier the need to mitigate the impact of staff absences on the economy and services. 0bviously absences on the economy and services. obviously the best way of doing this is by stemming transmission but we must also ensure the requirements for isolation are proportionate. i indicated last week we were weighing the risks and

benefits of shortening the isolation period for index cases and also potentially easing the requirement for all household contacts to isolate following a positive case. these are finely balanced judgments and we are considering the current trends and infection carefully. i can confirm that we do hope to reach decisions in the next week with any changes taking effect from the 5th of january and we will keep parliament updated. in the meantime, we have introduced an exemption scheme subject to appropriate protections and i can confirm a further change today that will help ensure the exemption scheme which is dependent on speedy turnaround of pcr tests is effective. at the current surge in cases does mean testing capacity, and processing capacity is under pressure. we are now prioritising some for essential workers like nhs and transport staff as well as for those who are clinically vulnerable or eligible

for new covid treatments. this ensures essential workers will get the test results they need to qualify for an exemption promptly. this is a sensible step to take at this stage but notwithstanding this priority for essential workers let me stress that testing remains available for anyone who needs it. if you try to book a test and can't find a slot and a location you can get to, try again later. additional pci slots are released throughout the day. test and protect is also for now focusing its telephone tracing on high—risk settings such as care homes. the majority of us if we test positive will be contacted by text or e—mail rather than by phone so if you are contacted by test and protect either as a positive case or a close contact please do respond and complete the online form and make sure you follow all advice given. the final point and vital point i want to update

ontoday is the progress of the vaccination programme. before i do so, let me address this point. i've had people ask in days what the purpose of this vaccination is if we still have to restrict our activities for the period and i understand that question but it is the answer that is vital for all of us to understand. firstly getting a booster doesn't mean we won't get covid though it will reduce the chances of that, but what it does do it significantly enhance our protection against serious illness. getting boosted could quite literally save your life. because it doesn't stop us getting or passing on the virus, those not fully vaccinated are still at significant risk. he won't get the full benefit of the booster programme as a country until the maximum number of us are fully vaccinated which does mean that anyone choosing not to be

vaccinated without good reason is acting irresponsibly. the key point is this, until the programme is completed and we are getting closer to that everyday, we still need slow down the spread. in recent weeks there has been a huge increase in booster appointments and i want to put on record again my thanks to everyone involved in the delivery of the programme and everyone coming forward to be boosted. 75% of those eligible for a booster have now received one. that represents excellent progress but to deliver maximum benefits we need maximum numbers to get boosted as quickly as possible. we want to get to or as close as possible to the target of having 80% of eligible adults boosted. getting there depends on both capacity and demand. let me make it clear, we definitely have enough capacity now to meet that target but what we need between now and the end of the week is high

demand. eligible people who are not boosted to come forward now and get the jab. high numbers of positive cases are making things more difficult because if you get the virus you can't get the vaccine for the period afterwards. thou canst —— though cancellation and do not attend rates have crept up this week. but to everyone out there who is not yet boosted but could be, please book an appointment now will go to a drop—in clinic. if you have an appointment booked forjanuary please reschedule it for this week. there are plenty of slots available. please don't delay. every single boosterjab please don't delay. every single booster jab administered please don't delay. every single boosterjab administered now is a step on the road back to normality. remember, if you have not had your first or second jab yet it's never too late for that either. ensure you get those now. it's an understatement to say the situation we face now is not what any of us

want and i have to be clear that the period immediately ahead will not be an easy one. that said, i do hope the clearer picture we will have in the clearer picture we will have in the next couple of weeks will also prove to be a much more positive picture and we can all help make it so so please do get fully vaccinated, do it this week. the more of us who have boosted the less severe the impact 0micron will be and the sooner we will all return to normality. please test regularly. the advice if you are meeting other people is the test before you go every single time. take your test as close as possible to have the time you will be seeing other people. this is really important if you are planning to meet people from other households over hogmanay although i would encourage you to minimise that. finally, take all the other print tote —— precautions that can make a difference. work from home whenever possible, stay at home more

than normal and reduce your contacts as much as possible. if you do visit indoor public places limit the number of households in your group to three at most, where a face covering on public transport and in shops and when moving around in hospitality and make sure the covering covers fully your mouth and nose. keep windows open if you are meeting in those and follow all advice on hygiene. sticking to this is really hard but it does keep a safer and gives us the ability to slow down the spread of the virus as we complete the all—important booster programme. this is another in the statement, it's been another difficult year but despite these renewed challenges that we face now i do firmly believe because of vaccination that 2022 will be a better year. let me conclude by thanking everyone again for all of

the sacrifices made over this year and by wishing everyone a very happy new year when it comes. the and by wishing everyone a very happy new year when it comes.— new year when it comes. the first minister will _ new year when it comes. the first minister will now— new year when it comes. the first minister will now take _ new year when it comes. the first minister will now take questions i new year when it comes. the first | minister will now take questions on theissues minister will now take questions on the issues raised in his statement. i will allow 55 minutes for questions and it will be helpful if members but are in the chat function now. i: douglas ross. can members but are in the chat function now. i: douglas ross.— now. i: douglas ross. can i begin by -auttin on now. i: douglas ross. can i begin by putting on record — now. i: douglas ross. can i begin by putting on record that _ now. i: douglas ross. can i begin by putting on record that i _ now. i: douglas ross. can i begin by putting on record that i recognise i putting on record that i recognise the hardship faced by people across scotland _ the hardship faced by people across scotland at this time. because of the restrictions we have seen scaled back or— the restrictions we have seen scaled back or cancelled christmas celebrations but there is some good news _ celebrations but there is some good news the _ celebrations but there is some good news. the booster programme continues— news. the booster programme continues to be rolled out increasing our protection against the omicron variant. anyone who has not done _ the omicron variant. anyone who has not done so _ the omicron variant. anyone who has not done so yet, get the booster. last not done so yet, get the booster. last week— not done so yet, get the booster. last week i— not done so yet, get the booster. last week i asked the first minister

to make _ last week i asked the first minister to make changes to self adulation rules, _ to make changes to self adulation rules, to — to make changes to self adulation rules, to allow household contacts to end _ rules, to allow household contacts to end sci—fi station if they have a negative — to end sci—fi station if they have a negative pcr results and reduce isolation — negative pcr results and reduce isolation period from ten days to seven _ isolation period from ten days to seven if— isolation period from ten days to seven if they test negative twice. however— seven if they test negative twice. however the first minister... we've had the _ however the first minister... we've had the ground—breaking omicron study— had the ground—breaking omicron study that— had the ground—breaking omicron study that shows it's more transmissible but less severe so first _ transmissible but less severe so first minister, what more information you need to change self adulation— information you need to change self adulation rules? this information you need to change self adulation rules?— adulation rules? this is one of the most important — adulation rules? this is one of the most important and _ adulation rules? this is one of the most important and most - adulation rules? this is one of the most important and most difficult| most important and most difficult decisions we will take in recent days. england has reduced the self isolation period for index cases. wales and northern ireland have not in it. that illustrates the finely balanced nature of this judgment.

but it is also really important that we understand the context we are making that decision. douglas ross points to the positive news on the study is published before christmas but as the authors of the studies themselves point out, it is important not to over interpret these studies will get carried away by the initial data they provide. while they do suggest the hospitalisation rate associated with 0micron is lower than for other variants that will not give us any benefit if the overall volume of cases cancelled that out. so that is why it's really important we don't allow the infection numbers to over wellness which brings me back to why the decision on isolation is important to get right because if we release people from isolation while

they might still be infectious then yes we will relieve some of the pressure we are seeing on the economy and that is not to be underestimated, but that will be short lived because the risk we take is that we will accelerate the spread of the virus and that pressure on the economy will increase in the longer term. we need to get this right. why do i say we are still taking a few more days? because we have a very rapidly rising number of cases right now which is a reason to do this but also a reason to be cautious about doing it. we have some fluctuation in case numbers inevitably because of the christmas period and we need to see that settle a little bit over the next two days. then we need to reach a judgment that is right in terms of weighing the risks and benefits of this. we would expect to do that over the next few days with any changes coming into effect from the new year holidays. while the

focus, because englund has already done this, the focus is on reducing isolation for index cases from ten days to seven days, it's not the only change that we should be considering. we have a situation right now in the wake of 0micron where we ask all household contacts of positive cases to isolate the ten days. i hope we can ease that up as well and i think it makes sense to make sure we are making changes in a coherent manner. these things are not easy, i don't underestimate the reasons why there are calls for us to do this. i hope we will do this but i don't think anybody looking at the case numbers being reported today would fail to see why it's important we take a very responsible approach to this and make sure that as far as it is possible we are getting it as right as we possibly

can. businesses across scotland are struggling with the impact of these restrictions at what should be the busiest _ restrictions at what should be the busiest time of the year. many of the same — busiest time of the year. many of the same businesses have been affected — the same businesses have been affected by the self isolation. absences and a lack of staff cover will mean — absences and a lack of staff cover will mean premises having to close early _ will mean premises having to close early or— will mean premises having to close early or not— will mean premises having to close early or not open at all despite staff— early or not open at all despite staff members testing negative. i've been speaking to businesses throughout the pests —— festive period — throughout the pests —— festive period and _ throughout the pests —— festive period and we are trying to plan the next two _ period and we are trying to plan the next two weeks and months but the first minister's indecision on the self isolation rules is continuing to cause — self isolation rules is continuing to cause trouble to plan for the period — to cause trouble to plan for the period ahead. what is also causing him trouble as a lack of financial sopport — him trouble as a lack of financial support. weeks ago i asked the first minister— support. weeks ago i asked the first minister to— support. weeks ago i asked the first minister to get this financial package to businesses over christmas. she promised to do everything possible to deliver that.

given_ everything possible to deliver that. given so— everything possible to deliver that. given so many businesses are in dire straits— given so many businesses are in dire straits and _ given so many businesses are in dire straits and in— given so many businesses are in dire straits and in need of financial assistance now can i ask the first minister— assistance now can i ask the first minister why they are still waiting for the _ minister why they are still waiting for the money to come through? douglas— for the money to come through? douglas ross describes it as indecision but it's actually responsibility and that is the most important burden on my shoulders as to be responsible and measured in taking these decisions. i know businesses are struggling and critical services are struggling with staff absences. if case numbers rise that will become more difficult which is why we need to try to slow down the increase in cases because it's the virus not self isolation which is the cause of this problem. the self isolation rules need to be proportionate so they are not exacerbating the problem. i don't argue in any way with the premise of the question here but there is an element of common sense that needs to be applied as well and that is way carefuljudgment comes into play

because if we ease up on the site isolation rules to quickly and we don't take sufficient care even though we are doing it for good reason is all we will do is increase the overall numbers of infections because we will contribute to the spread and therefore the problem that businesses are suffering won't get better, it will actually get worse. so these are not easy judgments to arrive at, governments elsewhere are struggling with this as well. i recognise the importance of speed but i hope others will recognise the importance of being measured and responsible in this as well. every action has a reaction, every decision you make has a potential consequence and sometimes an adverse consequence and that calls for careful decision—making which is what we have tried to do throughout this and as i say we will reach a decision on this over the next few days with any changes coming into effect after the new

year period from the 5th of january. but we are not doing nothing in the meantime, the exemption scheme is important and is already helping in many key sectors and the changes i talk about today to ensure prioritisation for essential workers and access to testing will help further so there is no sense in which we are not taking this issue seriously but we are simply trying to avoid compounding the problem as we try to solve that problem. secondly, on financial support, the financial support available for businesses in scotland now is significantly higher proportionally thanit significantly higher proportionally than it certainly is in england, i can't say much for wales and northern ireland, it demonstrates the seriousness with which we are taking this on money is flowing and will flow to businesses as quickly as possible. from announcing it through to making the money available to councils, through to i thinkjust days before christmas, a

leaders meeting