Covid in Scotland LIVE as warning issued over backlog in hospital operations and cancer procedures

First Minister addressed MSPs about the latest situation across the country as cases and the number of hospitalisations begin to fall following the spike earlier this year.

Nicola Sturgeon 's Scottish Government last week. If countries in the EU remain on Scotland's amber list then travellers will no longer have to self-isolate for 10 days on arrival.

Love Island winner Amber Rose Gill has admitted she likes Scots born barber Dale Mehmet as she watches this year's show.. And as Amber complimented him online, fans reckons that the heavily tattooed Conor McGregor lookalike actually prefers Kaz to his current love interest Chloe.

Government ministers are currently in conversation with UK Government officials about introducing the measure for holidaymakers. Any changes could come into force next week, with a decision expected at some point today - according to reports.

jabs by today, but Labour say this target has not been met. Scottish Labour MSP Jackie Baillie said: “The SNP’s failure to meet this flagship target is humiliating for them – but it should worry us all.

jabs by tomorrow, but Labour say this target has not been met. Scottish Labour MSP Jackie Baillie said: “The SNP’s failure to meet this flagship target is humiliating for them – but it should worry us all.

Covid victim has been refused disability benefits despite being left unable to work and taking 10 types of medication for the last 16 months. Shereen Smith was a wedding singer and had also been in the process of setting up her own cake-making company when she was struck down by the virus in March last year.

Scots beach. Chilli was splashing around in the water at South Queensferry when she ran over a huge jellyfish.

UK Government has outlined plans for daily contact testing for the food and drink industries – and received assurances from industry that problems were not widespread. Environment Secretary George Eustice and Health Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed targeted testing for certain workplaces is being rolled out - with the food industry prioritised, as part of the government’s close engagement with the sector.

COP26 summit. Glasgow city council’s leader has said she is “absolutely” focused on ensuring an international climate change meeting does not become a covid super-spreader event.

Scotland's long-awaited move to Level 0 in Covid restrictions, meaning a range of new freedom for people up and down the country. And today, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will hold a briefing to update Scots on the latest case numbers, trends and advice.

Scotland edged closer to normality today as the country moved into Level 0 Covid restrictions. A number of local authority areas have been stuck with level one and level two restrictions for a number of weeks due to a spike in infections caused by the Delta variant.

face masks could remain mandatory for people in Scotland until Christmas.John Swinney was asked if the rules around coverings implemented during the height of the first wave of the covid pandemic could stay in place until December, he replied "that's perfectly conceivable". During a Scottish Government announcement yesterday on the latest lockdown situation in Scotland Nicola Sturgeon said mask rules would remain passed ' Freedom Day ' on August 9.

Nicola Sturgeon urging her to bring in the same rules as England for quarantine-free travel from amber-list countries.

Scottish Government is exploring ways to allow more than 5,000 students from the high covid risk countries to come to Scotland to study when term restarts later this summer. Existing hotels, based around the country, do not have the sufficient capacity to cope with the number of people wanting to come to study.

Get the latest Scotland Now stories sent straight to your inbox with our twice-weekly newsletter.An NHS chief has said that clearing the backlog of hospital operations will take years 'will take years'.Professor Caroline Hiscox, who is the chief executive of NHS Grampian, said the current workload from the rising numbers from the coronavirus pandemic has left staff "exhausted".NHS Grampian is urging people in the region to help relieve pressure on the health service, reminding patients they

Nicola Sturgeon has expressed hopes cases of coronavirus in Scotland are now 'levelling off' after a sharp rise in recent weeks.The First Minister has said she remains optimistic that Scotland’s lockdown easing will still go ahead as planned despite a recent surge in Covid cases.But Ms Sturgeon hinted that not all rules scheduled to be removed from July 19 may be implemented as part of Scotland’s planned move to Level 0.She said: “Next Tuesday I will set out to parliament the final decision on