Nicola Sturgeon says there is 'no need for alarm' as Scotland records 88 new virus cases

Nicola Sturgeon has been given assurances by the UK Government that access to testing will not be restricted in Scotland while a backlog of cases is dealt with south of the Border. The SNP leader said today she had held constructive talks with Matt Hancock, the UK health secretary, on the subject as public demand for Covid tests continues to grow.

Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter.A second coronavirus death has been confirmed in Lanarkshire in the last two days.First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today announced that a person had died from Covid-19 for the second consecutive day in Scotland, both of which were in Lanarkshire.The news comes just days after additional coronavirus restrictions were brought in for people living in Lanarkshire following an increase in cases.Prior to this week,

Nicola Sturgeon said she cannot rule out imposing a curfew for pubs and restaurants if the number of Scots testing positive for Covid continues to rise. UK Government ministers are already considering introducing a 10pm or 11pm curfew on hospitality businesses if local measures are unable to bring the spread of the virus under control in England.

Nicola Sturgeon, has warned Scots of a “despicable” new phone scam involving callers pretending to be working for Test and Protect before asking for people’s payment details. During the daily lunchtime media briefing, the First Minister said scammers are attempting to con people by claiming that payment is needed for a coronavirus test to be accessed.

Get the stories that interest you straight to your inbox every day with our personalised newsletterA further 267 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been announced by the Scottish Government  - including 13 in Ayrshire.The overall figure account for 3.6 per cent of people tested in the last 24 hours.First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that the number was higher than it typically would be due to a backlog of test cases.One more death was confirmed of a person who tested positive for coronavirus

Greater Glasgow area as it tries to stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus.Around 1.75 million people living in Glasgow, East and West Dunbartonshire, North and South Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, and East Renfrewshire will be banned from having others in their homes for at least another week.The measure goes further than the rule of six which came into force across the rest of the country yesterday.First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged people to follow the guidance.She said: "I would ask

Scotland today limiting social gatherings to a maximum of six people from two different households.It comes as the number of positive coronavirus cases continues to rise.Over the last 24-hour period a total of 70 people tested for the deadly virus, but Nicola Sturgeon said the figure is likely to change. She raised concern over a serious backlog of lab tests in the UK-wide system.The new rules apply to both indoor and outdoor setting, including in pubs, restaurants, homes and gardens.

Protect Scotland app, according to Nicola Sturgeon. Kirsty Feerick's partner Daniel Rafferty tested positive for Covid-19 today having come down with symptoms, including a loss of taste and smell.Daniel, 26, had been feeling run down without feeling badly ill before suddenly being unable to taste or smell anything at all on Thursday.

UK Government to end its furlough scheme next month.She has also made clear it will not be 'acceptable' for the initiative to stop without Scotland being given the ability to set up an alternative.The First Minister said the UK Government ending the scheme – set up by Chancellor Rishi Sunak at the height of the coronavirus pandemic – will “narrow the options available to us in controlling the spread of the virus in the next few months”.By the end of June, some 736,500 workers across Scotland had

pub crawls as health officials struggle to keep on top of the rapid spread of Covid-19. The First Minister made the direct plea on the day new restrictions on movement were extended from Glasgow across most of west central Scotland.

Nicola Sturgeon has praised Humza Yousaf and his partner Nadia El-Nakla for a 'brave account' of their miscarriage experience, despite it sparking 'awful memories' for her. The First Minister has applauded Scotland's Justice Minister and his partner for publicly revealing they 'experienced five pregnancies, with just one of those resulting in a baby' in the past three years.

Get the stories that interest you straight to your inbox every day with our personalised newsletterScotland has recorded 101 new confirmed cases of coronavirus amid concerns that the country's 'R' number has crept above one.First Minister Nicola Sturgeon revealed the figures in her daily briefing earlier today.The R number indicates the spread of Covid-19 between people and should ideally be below one.But the First Minister revealed: ""We think that the R number in Scotland increased last week,

Get the stories that interest you straight to your inbox every day with our personalised newsletterScotland has recorded one coronavirus death in the past 24 hours, it was revealed this lunchtime.First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said there have been 156 new positive cases recorded during the same period.Six of the new cases have been reported in Ayrshire & Arran with Greater Glasgow showing the biggest spike on 86 cases.The new figure takes the total number of cases across the country to 20,788

coronavirus restrictions have come into force for 800,000 Scots in some of the country's biggest council areas. Nicola Sturgeon has announced a ban on indoor household gatherings as new lockdown restrictions were imposed on Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire Sturgeon said the transmission of the Covid-19 virus was mainly happening inside people's homes and the measures may be in place for two weeks.

coronavirus in Scotland registered in the last 24 hours. The Scottish Government confirmed the total number of positive cases now stands at 20,632.

Get the stories that interest you straight to your inbox every day with our personalised newsletterAyrshire and Arran has recorded 16 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours - part of 123 detected across Scotland.First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted that the new figures were 'a worry' but said it was important to note that the positivity rate remains below one per cent.No new deaths from the disease have been reported with the pandemic total remaining at 2,494.A total of 20,318 people