Nicola Sturgeon will today hold a Covid briefing amid rising Omicron cases, it has been confirmed.

The First Minister will take to the podium at 12.15pm with chief medical officer Professor Gregor Smith and national clinical director Professor Jason Leitch.

Speculation arose last night over a suspected last-minute briefing, and it has now been confirmed by the Scottish Government this morning. 

The briefing comes after guidance was issued last night from Public Health Scotland urging Scots to cancel their Christmas parties over Omicron fears.

Currently, there are 109 confirmed cases of the new variant in Scotland.

You can check how many have been confirmed in your area and other information on the variant in Scotland here.

You can watch the full live broadcast on our social media channels, and our Facebook Live can be accessed below.