Thread by @ChrisMusson

Nicola Sturgeon confirms "the remaining statutory measures introduced in response to Omicron... will be lifted from next Monday, 24 January", as well as "the guidance advising adults against non-professional indoor contact sports"

https://twitter.com/ChrisMusson/status/1483440445971738629

Nicola Sturgeon: "From Monday we will also lift the guidance asking people to stick to a three household limit on indoor gatherings."

Nicola Sturgeon: "Given that cases are now falling quite rapidly, and the current wave is receding, we decided that we will not at this stage extend the Covid certification scheme to other premises."

Nicola Sturgeon: "If cases were to start to rise very sharply again, extension of certification [vaccine passports] may well be a more proportionate alternative to other, more restrictive measures."

Nicola Sturgeon confirms that *if* vaccine passport scheme is extended (it's not being, for now), she's considering including all "licensed hospitality venues". This has not previously been confirmed and would go further than Wales, for example

Sturgeon: "I indicated last week that Cabinet would decide today whether or not to extend the certification scheme to other premises, such as licensed hospitality venues."

Nicola Sturgeon: "Despite what you might be hearing from media commentary.. we have not yet moved from the epidemic to the endemic phase of Covid, although I hope that transition is underway. However, we are - I hope - once again entering a calmer phase of the epidemic."

Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane - standing in for Douglas Ross - says the Scottish Government "still hasn't gone far enough" with relaxation of rules and urges her to accept the vaccine passport scheme is a "dud" and to "scrap it altogether"

Sturgeon replies to Gulhane saying that "at every turn.. the Conservatives have, in my view rather opportunistically, opposed whatever it's been the Scottish Government have recommended"

Sturgeon says that lifting all restrictions at the same time is unwise and it is "prudent" and "common sense" to keep working for home guidance in place