Thread by @theSNP

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "There is plenty of capacity in vaccination centres, and you will always be welcomed.

So please go along - it is not too late, it's never too late, to get vaccinated."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "The final issue I want to touch on briefly is the work I mentioned last week on a revised strategic framework."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "A revised strategic framework is intended to set out how we might adapt, medium to longer term, to living with the virus in a way that still mitigates the harm it does but without the kind of restrictive measures that we are all tired of and which do harm in other ways."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "It is worth reflecting on what 'living with the virus' does and doesn’t mean.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean waking up one morning soon and find that Covid has disappeared, or that we no longer need to think at all about mitigating the harm it can do."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "Hopefully, we are on a path from Covid being an epidemic to it becoming endemic - in other words, existing at more manageable and consistent levels.

But that is not a shift that any government can just declare or wish into being."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "While it seems that the impact of the Omicron variant on individual health is milder than past variants, it is not harmless.

It still causes serious illness in some and it still takes lives.

This virus remains a significant threat to public health."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "Trying to ‘live with the virus’, as we all want to do, will involve careful thought and possibly some difficult choices.

And it involves consideration of, and empathy for, everyone in our society – including those who are at the highest clinical risk from Covid."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "We know that we cannot continually rely on restrictive measures to manage the virus.

But equally we cannot be indifferent to the continued risks the virus poses to health and wellbeing."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "We need to consider what adaptations we can make to manage these risks in a way that is much less disruptive to our lives and much less of a daily presence in our minds."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "These are important issues for all of us - and so as we prepare the revised framework, we will consult with parliament, business organisations and other partners across society.

Our aim is to publish it within the next few weeks."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "As that final point emphasises, we remain in a highly challenging phase of the pandemic.

Case numbers are high – and the impacts of that severe, and the future trajectory remains uncertain."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "But because of the efforts we have all made, we are in a better position than I feared would be the case when additional measures were announced in December.

And I hope we are now seeing signs of improvement."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "That is allowing us to start the process from Monday of lifting the additional restrictions - and I hope that next week I will be able to confirm further steps in that process."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "In the meantime, we can all continue to act in a way that keeps things moving in the right direction.

So I will close with a reminder of what we can all do to help stem transmission."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "First, get fully vaccinated as soon as you can – if you haven’t already, please do it this week.

Secondly, try to limit your contacts. With infections at such a high level just now, every interaction comes with a significant risk of catching the virus."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "Third, if you are meeting other people socially, test before you go, every time.

And take the test as close as possible to the time you will be seeing other people."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "If you are meeting indoors, limit the number of households in your group to 3 at most.

Keep windows open.
Work from home whenever that is possible.

I ask employers again, please enable your employees to work from home when practical."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "Wear a face covering on public transport, in shops, and when moving about in hospitality - and make sure it fully covers your mouth and nose."

@NicolaSturgeon FM: "These steps do make a difference, and are making a difference – to each person’s individual safety, and also to the collective safety of all of us.

So please stick with them. My thanks go, once again, to everybody who is doing that."