Speaking in the Scottish Parliament today, the First Minister set out some “modest” changes to allow for improved wellbeing – with “more substantial changes” due within the weeks ahead.

She added that if the data allows more relaxation of measures more quickly, the Scottish Government will “not hesitate” to bring changes forward.

Here, we outline the key points from her statement.

Easing of outdoor meet-up rules

Scots will be able to meet in bigger groups from Friday, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The First Minister said four people from two households will now be able to meet outdoors from Friday.

For children aged between 12 and 17, outdoor meetings will also be limited to four people, but these can be from up to four households.

The First Minister also said that while travel restrictions cannot be lifted for adults, they will be eased slightly for children taking part in sport where their club may be “a bit outside” their council area.

Non-contact sport is back

Outdoor, non-contact sports for adults in groups of up to 15 will also be able to start again from Friday, Ms Sturgeon said.

Return of communal worship

Communal worship in Scotland will restart from March 26, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The First Minister told MSPs the limit for services will rise from 20 people to 50 people.

She said: “This is in time for Passover, Easter, Ramadan and Vaisakhi.

“In addition, the limit on attendance at communal services will be increased from 20, which was the limit in place before lockdown, to 50 – assuming of course that a place of worship is spacious enough to accommodate that many people with two-metre physical distancing.

“I know that the restrictions on communal worship have been difficult for many people, despite the exceptional efforts made by faith groups to reach out to their communities.

“This change is a proportionate step, which we believe can be achieved relatively safely, and which will hopefully enable more people to draw strength, comfort and inspiration from acts of collective worship.”

Acceleration of vaccine roll-out

An increase in supply will see a “very significant acceleration” of the vaccination programme, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said.

Speaking to MSPs in Holyrood, Ms Sturgeon said a dip in supply should be resolved by the middle of this month.

She said: “From about the middle of March onwards, however, we expect supplies to pick up again. This will allow for a very significant acceleration in the vaccination programme.

“It is worth noting that some of these supplies will be of short-dated stock – in other words, they will be of vaccines which must be used very soon after they have been received.”

The Scottish Government will now start to invite people in priority lists eight and nine, which includes those aged between 50 and 59 years old, to receive their first dose.

Easing of restrictions early?

The Scottish Government “will not hesitate” to ease restrictions earlier if data supports it, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The First Minister told MSPs on Tuesday: “If the data allows us to relax more restrictions more quickly than we have previously indicated, we will not hesitate to do so.

“I’m well aware of just how difficult continued restrictions are – and I know that they get harder rather than easier to bear, as time goes on.

“I also know – because I feel this too – that the progress on vaccination makes us even more impatient to reach the end of this ordeal as quickly as possible.

“But I am certain that easing restrictions too quickly would be a mistake that we would regret.”

Vaccine progress

Almost 40% of Scotland’s adult population has received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The First Minister told MSPs that “good progress” was being made with the vaccination programme, which has inoculated almost 1.8 million people.

Ms Sturgeon said: “There is already strong evidence that the vaccination programme has significantly reduced deaths in care homes.

“Studies are also showing that vaccination – as well as reducing illness and death – can significantly reduce transmission of the virus.

“We, therefore, have increasing confidence that as more and more people acquire some protection through vaccination, we will be able to ease restrictions while still keeping the R number below 1.”

Anger over Rangers fan gatherings

Nicola Sturgeon said the Scottish Government could not “turn a blind eye” to the mass gathering of Rangers fans at the weekend.

Addressing MSPs in Holyrood, the First Minister said: “It would be deeply unfair if a selfish minority spoil that for the majority, and I hope that will not be the case.

“But, given the fragility of the situation we face right now, we cannot simply turn a blind eye to what happened at the weekend and we won’t.

“We will report back in due course – and certainly ahead of the Old Firm match scheduled for March 21 – on the various discussions taking place this week.”

Minute silence

Ms Sturgeon said that plans are in place to commemorate the anniversary of lockdown in Scotland.

She said these plans include a national silence on March 23 to pay tribue to those who lost their life to the pandemic.

The latest cases

Scotland has recorded the deaths of 19 coronavirus patients and 466 new cases in the past 24 hours, according to Scottish Government figures.

This takes the death toll under this measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days –  to 7,441.

The daily test positivity rate is 3%, down from 5% on Monday.

There are 614 people in hospital confirmed to have the virus, down 40 in 24 hours, and 50 are in intensive care, down nine.

A total of 1,789,377 people have received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine as of Tuesday morning – an increase of 14,718 in a day – and 123,686 have received their second dose.