Thread by @theSNP

First Minister @NicolaSturgeon: "Good afternoon, thanks for joining us. Let me give the usual update on today's statistics. 798 positive cases were reported yesterday, which is 3.9% of the total number of tests and takes the overall number of confirmed cases to 199,637."

NS: "1,018 people are currently in hospital, 58 fewer than yesterday. 93 people are in intensive care, which is the same as yesterday. I'm sorry to say that 47 additional deaths were registered in the past 24 hours."

NS: "That takes the total number of deaths registered under that measurement to 7,053."

NS: "National Records of Scotland has also just published its weekly update. That includes cases were Covid is a suspected or contributory cause of death, in addition to deaths where Covid is confirmed through a test."

NS: "Today's update shows that, by Sunday, the total number of registered deaths linked to Covid, under the wider definition, was 9,347. 290 of those deaths were registered in the past week - that's 35 fewer than in the previous week."

NS: "Of those deaths, 235 occurred in hospitals, 34 in care homes, one occurred in another institutional setting, and 20 occurred in people's homes or in non-institutional settings."

NS: "Care home deaths have now fallen by 69% in the past four weeks, and in the most recent week they accounted for just under 12% of the overall number of deaths from Covid."

NS: "That is, with one week's exception, the lowest proportion recorded in any week since the very start of the pandemic."

NS: "That obviously provides further evidence and extremely welcome evidence that vaccination is already reducing the number of people dying from Covid, particularly the most vulnerable people in our care homes."

NS: "That said, the virus, as we can see from today's report, is still causing heartbreak on a daily basis to families across the country. Again, I want to send my condolences to everybody who is grieving."

NS: "Turning now to the update on the vaccination programme, as of this morning, 1,488,077 people have now received a first dose. That's an increase of 22,836 since yesterday."

NS: "In addition, 6,918 people yesterday received the second dose, meaning that a total yesterday of 29,754 vaccinations were administered."

NS: "84% of 65 to 69-year-olds have now received a first dose, which means we are well on course to offer the first dose to everybody in that age group by early March."

NS: "As I confirmed yesterday, we now expect to be able to offer a first dose to everybody over the age of 50, and to all adults with an underlying health condition, by the 15th of April - which is earlier than our previous estimate of when we'd complete all in those categories."

NS: "I'm joined today by Jason Leitch, the National Clinical Director, who will help me to answer questions shortly.

Before then, I want to cover two points.

The first is adult care home visiting, which I know is hugely important to many people across the country."

NS: "The inability to visit loved ones in care homes has been the source of anxiety, distress, and real trauma for people over the past year."

NS: "We're publishing today new guidance on how friends and family can start to visit residents in care homes again.

The guidance recommends that from the start of March onwards, all care homes that can, should support residents to have up to 2 designated visitors each."

NS: "That may not sound like much - and we obviously hope to get back to even more normality in the weeks t come. But I know that for many, even that is a big step back to a more normal way of life."

NS: "It is not a complete return to normal yet - there will be a lot of Covid safety measures in place, face coverings, rigorous hygiene and the availability of testing - but it is nevertheless a really important move forward."

NS: "And having listened to the views of those who have family in care homes, I know that it is a change that has been much longed-for and will be cherished by many - people who have not been able to properly be with, or care for, their loved ones during this pandemic."

NS: "The change has of course been made possible, in very large part, because of the exceptionally high uptake of the vaccines in care homes.

We believe that with additional safeguards that I've mentioned, this is now the time to take that step."

NS: "We want to see care home visiting restart as quickly as possible across all care home groups so we are currently speaking with all groups to understand and address any concerns they may have."

NS: "And we will also work with care homes to safely increase the frequency with which people can visit.

I am very grateful to everyone in the care home sector, who has worked with us to make the resumption of visiting possible."

NS: "And I want to say thank you to those working in care homes, who've had a very torrid time over the past year, but who have also gone the extra mile to try to fill the gap that has been left in many residents’ lives by the absence of visits at times over the past year."

NS: "I know there will be families across the country that are deeply grateful to all of you for doing that."

NS: "The other issue I want to address today is the update to Scotland’s strategic framework for Covid that we published yesterday."

NS: "Let me say at the outset that I know how desperate everyone is for more certainty and to be able to see as far ahead into the future with as much clarity as possible."

NS: "So I’ll say a little about why I don’t think it’s right or possible to do everything that we all desperately want at the moment, but also a bit about how we intend to get to that longer-term position as quickly as possible."

NS: "The framework provides indicative dates for the next six weeks, because that’s the timeframe that right now we can be most confident about. It is harder at this stage to know the likely course of the pandemic after that period."

NS: "The main reason for that is we don’t yet know how the new, more infectious variant of the virus will behave as we start to lift the lockdown restrictions.

Because it is only the restrictions keeping that at bay right now."

NS: "What that means is we have to monitor the first few steps out of lockdown we take very carefully, so that we are building our confidence about the speed at which we are able to go."

NS: "Over the next couple of weeks that means looking closely at the impact of the first phase of school return that started on Monday - and at the impact of the next phase that will happen on 15 March, when we hope to get as many more young people as possible back to school."

NS: "My hope is that the more we learn about the impact of the early changes, the more confidence we will then have that we can go further and faster, without risking a resurgence of the virus that would set us all back.

In the meantime, we will move forward carefully."

NS: "But over the period between now and the start of April, we will move forward.

We will support the full return of schools - with as many pupils as possible back on 15 March - and also the return of care home visiting that I've just spoken about."

NS: "We will let young people return to outdoor sports, to help their mental health and give them the chance to be with friends.

We will let communal worship re-open - and let me be clear, we intend to allow that in time for the Easter weekend and Passover."

NS: "And we will lift the stay at home restriction at the start of April - which compares, I think, to a target date of the very end of March for England, so not much difference there.

And we will also re-open some parts of retail."

NS: "So that is what we can reasonably be confident about doing between now and start of April. There's always caveats to that because we can't be absolutely certain about what's going to happen with the virus."

NS: "But we have a reasonable degree of confidence in that six-week timeframe.

If we become confident over the next few weeks that we can do more, we will do more."

NS: "And then, from the last week in April, on current planning, the expectation is the rest of retail will start to re-open, as will holiday accommodation, hospitality, gyms and hairdressers."

NS: "As you can probably see, I am as desperate as anybody to see hairdressers open."

NS: "That will involve all of Scotland going down to at least level 3.

But there might be parts of the country at that stage - perhaps more rural communities - that are able to go straight to level 2, meaning the opening up can happen faster."

NS: "And of course, all parts of Scotland, we hope, will be able to move to lower levels of restrictions fairly quickly over May and June."

NS: "Now, again, all of this is cautious - because we don’t yet know exactly what will happen with the new variant when we do start to open up - but as we get a better handle on that, we will move faster if we can."

NS: "And the factor that may open the way for us to move further and faster is greater confidence about the impact vaccination is having on transmission.

That is absolutely the area where we have every reason right now to be really optimistic."

NS: "Inevitably and understandably, and this has been the case since almost day one of the pandemic, comparisons are made with what's happening in England.

Sometimes people want us to follow what's happening in England, sometimes people don't."

NS: "My view has always been that what we should try to do, in fact, what my duty as First Minister is to do, is just to try our hardest to get it right for Scotland."

NS: "That’s what we have done on schools, for example - so right now we have some children back to school already.

That’s not yet the case in England."

NS: "But two other points. Our approach here is not an outlier - it’s broadly in line, although there are differences, with Wales and Northern Ireland."

NS: "And in terms of re-opening the economy, the plans I set out yesterday are roughly two weeks behind the plans for England."

NS: "It’s worth pointing out that last year, as we came out of lockdown, the dates we set then were also a little behind those in England - and it caused the same understandable frustrations in some quarters..."

NS: "..but looking back, our approach enabled more of the country to remain open and trading for longer before new restrictions became necessary."

NS: "That underlines what I really strongly feel must be the priority now - getting to a sustainable position that protects people’s lives, and protects the NHS, but also gives people and business the opportunity to rebuild and recover without hopefully facing further shutdowns."

NS: "The final thing I know people want to hear is the end date for all of this. When will it all be over so we can do all the things we all miss doing?

I desperately want that too. And I am more confident, with every day that passes, that we are getting closer to that."

NS: "The emerging evidence makes me more hopeful than ever that the days of being able to hug loved ones and socialise on a close to normal basis might not be too far away."

NS: "The reason for that confidence is, as I said a moment ago, the emerging evidence on vaccination. But in terms of being able to put a hard and fast specific date on that right now?"

NS: "It would certainly make my life a lot easier to do that. Or at least, it would make my life easier in the short-term. I'm not sure it would make it easier if I had to tell you later on that I'd got it wrong."

NS: "And that's the point. If I was to give you a fixed, hard and fast date right now, I would pretty much be making it up.

And I don’t think that is the approach I should take with you."

NS: "So I’m not ruling out any specific dates. I want it to be as soon as possible. And we have every reason to be hopeful that, come the summer, life will be much, much better than it is just now."

NS: "But when I stand here and give you what I think the actual date when all or most restrictions come to an end is going to be, I want to be as sure as I can be that it is real and that it can be delivered."

NS: "So I don't just understand the frustrations that people have. I feel those frustrations.

As has been the case all along, I will have to take decisions that sometimes you agree with and sometimes you disagree with."

NS: "But I can assure you that the Scottish Government will continue to do our very best to lead the country as quickly, but also as safely and sustainably, through this horrible ordeal and out the other side of it."

NS: "But one thing, and this is my final point, that I know beyond any doubt, is that the more we all stick with this now, keeping the virus suppressed..."

NS: "..getting it more suppressed while the vaccination does its work, then the faster that day when we get out the other end of this will be."

NS: "So for now, difficult though I know it is, please for now stay home and follow all the other guidance, because that is what is working right now and that is what is bringing this day when we're all out of this pandemic that bit closer."