Thread by @theSNP

First Minister @NicolaSturgeon: "Hello, thanks for joining us again today. I'll give you firstly the usual run-through of the daily statistics."

NS: "I can report that the total number of positive cases that were reported yesterday was 203. This represents 4.4% of people newly tested and takes the total number of cases now to 23,776."

NS: "Let me remind you again that these are positive cases reported yesterday. Because of the processing backlog we've been dealing with - which, as I said yesterday, has been improving - more of these than normal may be from swabs taken over the past few days."

NS: "As I've also said before, when we look at whether case numbers are rising or not, we look at results by the date the sample was taken - not just the date it was reported. So the backlog doesn't in any way distort our trend analysis."

NS: "The full regional breakdown will be published later as normal, but I can confirm now that 69 of the 203 cases are in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 30 in Lothian, and 29 in Lanarkshire. The remaining 75 are across the other 8 mainland health board areas."

NS: "I can also confirm that 61 people are in hospital, which is an increase of 9 on yesterday. 5 people are in intensive care, that's the same as yesterday."

NS: "Finally, I regret to say that in the past 24 hours, 1 additional death was registered of a patient who first tested positive over the previous 28 days. That means the total number of deaths under this daily measurement is now 2,502."

NS: "This is a reminder that we are again reporting deaths, albeit small numbers, on a regular basis again. That's an indication that, in Scotland, as elsewhere, Covid is accelerating again. I'll say more about that shortly."

NS: "But I want, once again, to pass again my condolences to everybody who has lost a loved one to this illness - including those grieving as a result of the death that was registered yesterday."

NS: "I'm joined today by our National Clinical Director, Jason Leitch. After my remarks, Jason will say a few words about the news this morning that an Edinburgh Rugby Academy player has tested positive for Covid."

NS: "Before that, there are a few items I want to cover. Firstly, let me briefly highlight an announcement that was made by the Scottish Government last night. We have added two additional places to the list of those subject to quarantine restrictions."

NS: "Those are Slovenia and Gaudeloupe. This means, from tomorrow, people travelling to Scotland from these countries must self-isolate on their return or arrival in Scotland."

NS: "It's very important that people comply with that. By contrast, Singapore and Thailand were removed from the quarantine list so anyone arriving from either of these countries from tomorrow no longer needs to quarantine."

NS: "But if you have arrived from Singapore or Thailand in the past few days, you do need to complete your 14 days of isolation."

NS: "This is all a further reminder how quickly levels of the virus – in any country or area – can change.

So I’ll say again, please avoid non-essential overseas travel at the moment."

NS: "Indeed, please think carefully about non essential travel at home too.

And in particular avoid travelling to parts of the UK that are under tougher restrictions just now."

NS: "Now, the main thing I want to do today is take a moment to take stock of where the country stands right now in the pandemic."

NS: "We are seeing increasing numbers of places here in Scotland and across the rest of the UK under local and regional restrictions.

And many of you will have woken up this morning to hear news of the potential for new national restrictions."

NS: "The bottom line is that the virus is on the rise again.

Our case numbers are not rising as fast as in March - but they are rising.

The percentage of tests coming back positive is also not as high as in March - but again it is rising. And the R number is above 1 again."

NS: "Across the UK - particularly in England just now - hospital admissions are rising. ICU admissions are rising too. This should sound a warning signal for us here in Scotland too."

NS: "And, while for the last few weeks, people might have taken comfort from the low levels of older, more vulnerable people contracting the virus, I have to say to you that that picture is also beginning to change."

NS: "Our most recent data shows that the percentage of cases in the older population is now rising too.

Looking more widely, we can observe that in broad terms, we might now be on a similar path to that taken in recent weeks by France."

NS: "About four weeks ago, they stood where we stand today.

But now they have around 10,000 case per day, hundreds of people in ICU, and deaths in France are already rising now as well."

NS: "Our task is to make sure – if we can – that we interrupt that and do not end up where they are now.

What lies behind this is a simple reality: we face the risk again of exponential growth."

NS: "And we all know what that looks like.

So I want to talk briefly about what we need to do.

First and foremost, we need to act to interrupt that exponential growth. No one wants to see another full-scale lockdown."

NS: "And, above all, we want to keep schools and childcare open. We know how important that is to the education, but also the broader wellbeing, of children and young people."

NS: "So right now - and I mean right now, today, over the weekend and into next week, that means following all of the rules and advice currently in place. Work from home if you can. That remains our advice."

NS: "Avoid, if you can, non-essential travel. Don’t meet with any more than 6 people from a maximum of 2 households, indoors and outdoors."

NS: "If you live in Glasgow, as I do, or in East or West Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire or East Renfrewshire, North or South Lanarkshire, don’t visit other households at all at the moment unless you have to to visit, deliver shopping for or care for a vulnerable person."

NS: "The fact is we know - and this is one of the things we've learned about this virus - that when it gets into a household, it is very likely to infect everyone in that household."

NS: "So to be blunt, we must do everything we can to keep it out of our households. When we do have to interact with others, the last piece of advice I want to remind you about is to follow FACTS - all of the basic things that help us reduce the risks of transmitting the virus."

NS: "These are the current rules, and I'm asking everybody please to abide by them strictly and rigorously. It may well be that if we are to interrupt and break this growth we will have to do more over the next few weeks."

NS: "This weekend will be critical in the assessment of how best to do that.

As widely reported, SAGE met yesterday. I have chaired a meeting of senior Scottish Government officials and advisers this morning to assess the current situation."

NS: "And discussions across the 4 nations of the UK will, I hope, take place in the coming days."

NS: "I have this morning asked the Prime Minister to convene a COBRA meeting over the weekend.

So today I want to give the nation advance notice, that the coming days are likely to see some hard but necessary decisions."

NS: "If we want to avoid another full-scale lockdown - which we all do - doing nothing almost certainly isn’t an option.

I will of course, as I have sought to do throughout, keep you regularly and fully updated."

NS: "But for now, over this weekend, please rigorously follow all the current rules and all of the current advice."

NS: "There's another issue I want to update you on, and it's another area where some of us may be able to help in the fight against this virus. It involves Scotland's involvement in the UK-wide COVID Infection Survey."

NS: "The survey is designed to track the spread and prevalence of the virus in the general population. It is conducted by the Office for National Statistics, and the University of Oxford. And following a successful pilot in England, it has been expanded to other parts of the UK."

NS: "In Scotland, it will ultimately see up to 15,000 people being tested, every fortnight. Households will be randomly selected for the survey. And over the coming period, those households will all be sent a letter, inviting them to participate."

NS: "Those letters will provide details on how to register. The first of them should be arriving today. And from Monday, survey teams will begin visiting households that agree to take part."

NS: "Those who do take part will be asked to administer swabs to their throats and noses, to test for the virus.

People aged 12 years or older can take the swab themselves – but parents and carers should administer the swab for younger children."

NS: "A subset of participants – over the age of 16 – will also be invited to provide blood samples, to test whether they have already had Covid."

NS: "Participants will be asked to take further tests every week for the first 5 weeks, then every month for up to a year. Members of the survey team will visit households, to collect the tests."

NS: "The results will help us to see how many people are infected with the virus at a given point in time - with or without symptoms."

NS: "And they will give us a sense of how many people are ever likely to have had the infection. They should therefore provide us with really important new insights into the spread of the virus in Scotland."

NS: "The survey will also provide additional data on the characteristics of those who are testing positive. As such, it will help us to examine any difference in the impact of the virus, on different groups in society."

NS: "We expect to have the initial survey results for Scotland by November, but of course that is dependent - and this is why I'm raising it today - on people's willingness to sign up."

NS: "So if you receive a letter and you are able to do so, I encourage you to take part in this survey. It is really important and will be a vital tool in our efforts to understand the virus and therefore equip ourselves better to know the things to do to keep it under control."

NS: "To close today, I want to come back to my earlier point and just emphasise to you we are at another really critical point. Covid-19 is on the rise, not just here in Scotland, it is on the rise in the UK and Europe."

NS: "Just yesterday, the World Health Organization warned that weekly cases across Europe have now topped 300,000.

That’s higher than it was in March – when the virus first peaked."

NS: "This virus could get out of our grip again. That should serve as our wake-up call. But that hasn’t happened yet. We do still have time to prevent it happening."

NS: "That is down to government to be clear, and to take a lead, and be very decisive in what we have to do, but it also ultimately comes down to all of us."

NS: "Before I hand over to Jason, I want to remind all of you watching and ask you to remind others of what we need you to do."

NS: "If you live in Glasgow; East or West Dunbartonshire; Renfrewshire or East Renfrewshire; and North or South Lanarkshire, please don’t visit other households anywhere in Scotland."

NS: "In the rest of the country, please do not meet with more than 6 people, from a maximum of 2 households. Don’t give the virus the opportunity to spread between households."

NS: "Because if it spreads between households, we know it spreads within households. Download the Protect Scotland app if you haven't already done so. A million of us have done so already."

NS: "We know that will help make a difference."

NS: "Finally, in everything we do, let's all follow FACTS. These are the five golden rules that help all of us minimise the risk of transmission."

NS: "Those rules are, just to recap:

Face coverings in enclosed spaces.

Avoid crowded places.

Clean your hands, clean all hard surfaces you touch.

Two-metres distancing from people in other households.

Self-isolate and book a test if you have symptoms."

NS: "We are, as I said a moment ago, at a critical point right now. But as I said in one of these briefings a couple of days ago, nothing is inevitable. We all have the power to help stop this virus running out of control again."

NS: "I know the responsibility that is on the shoulders of me and the government here, to take the hard decisions that determine whether we succeed or not, but as I've said so many times throughout, this is down to all of us."

NS: "We are all in this together, and it is only by acting together that we can stop it running out of control and ultimately, save lives."

NS: "My thanks again to everybody who is making all sorts of sacrifices to help us do that. Keep spreading the word to everybody you know."