Thread by @theSNP

First Minister @NicolaSturgeon: "Good afternoon, everyone. Since this is the first media briefing of the new year, let me wish all of you a happy new year."

NS: "This year is having a very difficult start, but we do hope it will, nevertheless, bring better times ahead."

NS: "Now, I'm going to say more in a few moments about the announcements that I set out in Parliament yesterday, but as usual I will give you an update on today's statistics first."

NS: "I can tell you that the total number of positive cases reported yesterday was 2,529. That represents 14.8% of the total number of tests and means that the total number of confirmed cases that we now have in Scotland is 139,027."

NS: "Analysis of PCR samples also shows that the new variant is now responsible for around 50% of new cases in Scotland, and that is a proportion that is rising."

NS: "695 of the new cases today were in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 388 in Lanarkshire, 322 in Lothian and 210 in Tayside. The remaining cases are spread across 8 other health board areas."

NS: "1,347 people are currently in hospital. We haven't been reporting hospital and ICU figures over the new year bank holiday period, but to give you some context for that figure today I can tell you that it's 255 more people in hospital now than was the case a week ago."

NS: "93 people are in intensive care, that is 28 more than a week ago today. 11 additional deaths have been registered in the past 24 hours of patients who first tested positive in the previous 28 days."

NS: "Yesterday was a bank holiday so it is possible that this figure today is artificially low as a result of that."

NS: "But it means that the total number of deaths reported under this daily measurement is now 4,633."

NS: "And of course every single one of these deaths, I report them here on a daily basis as statistics but every one of these statistics represents a human being who has lost their lives to this virus and will have left behind grieving families and friends."

NS: "Again, today, my condolences and thoughts go to every individual and family who is in that situation."

NS: "I'm joined by the National Clinical Director, he's going to help me answer questions in a few moments. But before we get to questions I want to take the opportunity to emphasise the key points I set out yesterday in Parliament."

NS: "Firstly, just to reiterate that the current situation we face now in the pandemic is, in my view, more serious than it has been at any time since the spring."

NS: "That's because this new, more transmissible variant of Covid is becoming increasingly common, as I said a moment ago. As a result of that, cases are rising much more steeply and rapidly than they had been in the latter part of last year."

NS: "As a result of that, more people are likely to become ill, and the health service will come under more severe pressure."

NS: "That, of course, is the worrying position we face. I don't say it for exaggeration - I say it because we all must take that seriously now."

NS: "But, of course, there is a difference between now and last spring and that is a positive difference. That is the fact that vaccines have been approved for use in the UK now."

NS: "Vaccines, as we know, does offer the way out of this pandemic. More than 100,000 people in Scotland have already been vaccinated..."

NS: "..and as I set out in Parliament yesterday, we expect - although these timetables are still tentative - that by May, more than 2.5 million people will have received vaccination, or at least the first dose of the vaccination."

NS: "That includes everyone on what is called the JCVI priority list, everyone over the age of 50, and people under 50 who have specific underlying health conditions."

NS: "We will do everything we can to speed that up, to deliver vaccines as quickly as possible, and we'll set out what our expectations are around that as the certainty we have on the flow of supplies becomes much firmer, I hope, in the days and weeks to come."

NS: "But in the race we currently face - I am describing it deliberately as a race between the virus and the vaccine because that really is in essence what it is."

NS: "We can't rely solely on speeding up vaccination. That's really important, but because this new variant is spreading much more quickly, we must also act, as we vaccinate more people..."

NS: "..to slow the virus down so the vaccination can get ahead and ultimately be in a position where it wins the race."

NS: "And the new variant, because it's easier to transmit and spreads more quickly, means slowing it down is more difficult, and to achieve that takes much stricter restrictions than the ones that have been in place over the past few months."

NS: "That is why we got to the position yesterday of announcing what is, effectively, a new lockdown."

NS: "The key message we want to convey, and are conveying and stressing very strongly, is a simple message. Not simple to abide by, but simple for me to communicate."

NS: "It's a similar message to the one I communicated for much of last year, and that is - stay at home."

NS: "Staying at home whenever possible is the best way of protecting ourselves, protecting each other, protecting the NHS and ultimately saving lives."

NS: "There are of course specified essential purposes for which you can leave your house - these include exercise, essential shopping, providing care, perhaps for a vulnerable relative."

NS: "Because extended households are still permitted to try and help us in some way tackle the loneliness and isolation of these restrictions, you can also leave your home to visit the other people in your extended household."

NS: "Fundamentally, I'm asking everybody to really try hard to stay at home as much as possible, and only leave home if it is for a genuinely essential purpose."

NS: "That means you must work from home if you can. In fact, it's only permissible to leave home to go to work if you cannot work from home."

NS: "Businesses and employers have a big part to play in making sure that we can achieve that. The Economy Secretary spoke to business organisations yesterday to reinforce this message."

NS: "I want to be clear that we really need businesses in this next phase, as they have been throughout, to be responsible, to help us fight this virus."

NS: "That means not always looking for the loophole that allows you to stay open or have staff physically at work - instead it means thinking about how you as a business can maximise your contribution to the collective challenge we all face."

NS: "In return, government will do all we can to maximise the financial support available to you. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has just announced, this morning, additional financial support for businesses."

NS: "We are, over the course of today, trying to get clarity on the detail of that so we then know what that enables us to do in addition to the financial support for businesses that is already in place."

NS: "Returning to what lockdown means for all of us as individuals, we have also introduced tighter restrictions on outdoor socialising because this virus is spreading more easily."

NS: "It is still possible to meet someone outdoors - but only two people from two households can meet up. Previously it was 6 people, but now only 2 people from a maximum of 2 households."

NS: "That rule applies to everyone who is aged 12 and over – and now means that outdoor exercise should also only take place in groups of two, no more than two households.

We announced several other significant restrictions yesterday."

NS: "You can find full details of these on the Scottish Government website.

Where there's a need for it, we'll put forward and publish additional guidance to help people navigate their way through this as well as we can."

NS: "One thing I want to mention specifically, because I know it was distressing for many people, and that was the announcement yesterday that places of worship would close over this next period as well, except for funerals and weddings."

NS: "For people in faith communities who take great comfort from collective worship, this is a particularly hard restriction to bear. But we do deem it essential at the moment to help us over that overall task of getting the virus back under control."

NS: "We will not keep these restrictions in place for any longer than necessary."

NS: "We have also decided that school and nursery buildings will only be open for the children of key workers and vulnerable pupils until at least the 1st of February."

NS: "During that time, remote learning will continue for the majority of pupils.

This is without a doubt the most difficult of the restrictions that we put in place yesterday."

NS: "I know how tough it will be for pupils, who as well as missing education in the normal school environment, will be missing your friends, and the normal social aspect of growing up and enjoying your school life."

NS: "I'm sorry about that, and we will try to get you back to school as quickly as possible. This is also difficult for parents, particularly those who are trying to juggle childcare and online learning."

NS: "We will think about what more support we can put in place to help you through this difficult period."

NS: "The decision on schools will be reviewed fortnightly, and we will do everything we can to get as many pupils back to school as soon as it is safe to do so."

NS: "But at the moment, community levels of the virus are still high and rising, and also there is some uncertainty about the impact of the new variant on young people."

NS: "Those two things together lead us to the judgement it is not safe enough to have schools open right now for the majority of pupils as normal."

NS: "Now, the measures we announced yesterday are not the start to this year that any of us would have wanted.

They're really tough for businesses, for individuals - and as I've said a couple of occasions already, we'll consider what further support we are able to provide."

NS: "But the current figures, including those I've reported today, tell us that action is needed.

This new variant of Covid is so much more easily transmitted that without these tougher restrictions, cases in Scotland would definitely continue to rise very sharply."

NS: "That creates the likelihood that more people would get and die than would otherwise be the case, but also it creates the real risk that our National Health System - which is currently coping although the pressure on frontline staff is considerable..."

NS: "it creates the real risk that it would, instead, be overwhelmed - and perhaps quite quickly."

NS: "By acting now, rather than waiting until things get more severe, we give ourselves a chance to avert the more serious challenge currently being faced in some other parts of the UK right now."

NS: "I know that will not provide any comfort, nor does it provide comfort for me to say we are not alone, but we are not alone. People in England, Wales, Northern Ireland are waking up today to similar restrictions."

NS: "Many other countries across Europe are in similar positions.

But while this is hard for everybody to take, we must hold on to the fact - and it is a fact - that we now have, in a way we didn't last year, a clear route out of this pandemic through the vaccination programme."

NS: "The Scottish Government will be doing everything we possibly can to accelerate, speed up that programme, and get the maximum number of people vaccinated as quickly as possible."

NS: "But while we're doing that, we absolutely must, all of us, work to slow down the spread of this virus. That's why these measures are essential and why, again, I must ask everybody to really rigorously abide by all of these restrictions."

NS: "That means following the FACTS advice - wear face coverings, avoid crowded places when you are out of your house, which you shouldn't be unless it's essential."

NS: "Wash your hands, wash hard surfaces even if you are staying at home. It's really important still to do that. Keep a 2m distancing when you're out with people from other households. Self-isolate and get a test if you have symptoms."

NS: "These steps all still work in breaking the chains of transmission of this new variant, and remain as important if not moreso."

NS: "But fundamentally, the most important thing - and the most difficult thing - I'm asking everybody to do again is stay at home."

NS: "Staying at home helps us control this virus. It helps us protect ourselves and each other. It helps us protect our NHS. Fundamentally, and ultimately, it helps us save lives;. That, as we have all known all along, is really important."

NS: "My concluding message is the same as it was back in March because the situation we face now is as serious as the one we faced back in March."

NS: "So please stay at home, protect the NHS, and save lives."