Nicola Sturgeon set to put up to 12 Scottish council areas under level 4 lockdown

Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.Both north-east councils had been put on notice yesterday but will stay at level two on the sliding scale for Scotland's 32 local authorities."I can confirm that the Scottish Government is not proposing any immediate changes today to the levels that currently apply to each local authority area," Sturgeon said in her weekly statement to the Scottish Parliament."However, I need to be clear that we have been looking and will continue to look very carefully in the days to

the crisis. She said the right to leaving the UK is "inalienable" and taunted Prime Minister Boris Johnson to try to block another pro-independence majority at Holyrood.

festive tradition is the latest in line to fall victim to strict public health rules which already banned Halloween guising and bonfire night gatherings. The Scottish Government has not finalised the rules but carol singing is being reviewed along with other traditions, including popular Santa's grottos for children.Nicola Sturgeon said work is under way shortly after a Boris Johnson spokesman said permission was granted in England.

referendum. Before the first speeches, Sturgeon said she has "never been so certain" Scotland will achieve independence.

First Minister spoke ahead of her party’s annual conference today by telling members she has “never been so certain” the country will achieve independence.Her party is riding high in opinion polls and is widely tipped to win a majority of MSPs at next year's Holyrood election.That could set off a constitutional showdown with Westminster as the SNP uses its mandate to demand an IndyRef2 takes place.While Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said he will not allow another referendum on

post-Brexit paperwork for fish products.

vote on the constitution. With the Nationalists currently soaring in the polls it means Boris Johnson could face huge pressure to allow an IndyRef2 to take place in the coming years - despite repeatedly saying he would not.

a four-nation approach to the festive season was confirmed on Tuesday night. She admitted some people thought the decision to allow people to form a "Christmas bubble" with three households over a five day period was too little, but others thought it was terrible.

lockdown is working nationally.It comes as daily infection figures dropped to 771 across Scotland and one week after 11 councils, including Glasgow, were ordered into the highest level 4 alert.At Holyrood, Sturgeon said: "The latest data shows that across the country and in most local authority areas the restrictions in place are having an impact."The number of new cases across the country has stabilised in recent weeks.

five-tier system on Tuesday morning but the First Minister told MSPs in the Scottish Parliament this will be the only change. The majority of Scots remain in the first of three weeks of strict measures that have closed all non-essential shops and prevented travel to other areas.Sturgeon told MSPs that 41 deaths and 771 positive tests have been recorded in the past 24 hours.

coronavirus  death toll has hit 3,459, the  Scottish Government  confirmed today.

travel ban is being imposed tomorrow along with closures for non essential shops affecting nearly half the population. The measures attracted a major backlash from businesses who now fear disaster in the normally busy festive season.Sturgeon, at today's coronavirus briefing, said the rate of infection is showing signs of improvement but there are big regional variations.

Nicola Sturgeon has insisted the benefits of schools staying open “outweigh” their impact on the spread of coronavirus.The First Minister outlined the details of a new report from Public Health Scotland, which found three-quarters of all schools did not report a single case of Covid-19 in the first nine weeks of this term.In total, 1,621 pupils tested positive for the virus during that period, the equivalent of 0.2% of the total cohort.Scotland's largest teaching union has already threatened

level two rules on November 24.The change depends on continued progress, but it was seen as a positive sign while Glasgow and 10 other councils were ordered into the highest level four lockdown.First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the plan at the Scottish Parliament as part of the government's weekly review of the five-tier system.She said: "I am pleased to report that East Lothian and Midlothian have both seen a marked decline in infection rates – prevalence in these areas is significantly

Nicola Sturgeon confirms further covid restrictions on Tuesday afternoon.These areas are likely to be Glasgow council area, the three Ayrshire councils, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, West and East Dunbartonshire, North and South Lanarkshire and Stirling and possibly Inverclyde, according to leaked documents.There will no official confirmation on which areas go into the tightest level until Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the Scottish parliament later today after her Cabinet make a final decision

Nicola Sturgeon has already signposted the likely decision on moving to the highest level 4 alert ahead of an official statement at the Scottish Parliament this afternoon. Officials were checking the latest infection figures this morning in councils across the Glasgow and Greater Clyde region, Lanarkshire and potentially West Lothian.

Nicola Sturgeon has vowed to keep schools open in the west of Scotland even in council areas placed at level four.The First Minister today gave her strongest indication yet that several local authorities will this week be moved into the Government's highest level of lockdown - meaning thousands of non-essential businesses will be forced to close.But both primary and high schools will stay open to ensure youngsters can still attend class.It comes as the country's biggest teaching union, the EIS,

coronavirus vaccine could be available in Scotland, she hopes people will start receiving jabs before the end of 2020 or "certainly very early next year". Her comments at the Scottish Parliament came after drugs manufacturer Pfizer revealed earlier in the week that its Covid-19 vaccine is more than 90% effective at preventing the virus.