First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned difficult decisions will be made this weekend to force coronavirus back into “retreat”.
Case numbers are increasing once more, with most health boards across Scotland now recording cases.
At her briefing, Ms Sturgeon said the country at a “very, very critical” stage while national clinical director Jason Leitch described it as being at “amber” – with all options on the table to prevent hitting “red”.
She called for PM-led, four-nations Cobra meeting this weekend – although said she could not remember the last time she spoke to Boris Johnson – to allow leaders to discuss ways to tackle the virus.
Describing it as the “most critical point of decision-making” since March, Ms Sturgeon said she felt it was important for leaders to come together as soon as possible.
In the meantime, she said all options to curb the spread in Scotland were under consideration.
She said she wished she could give “definitive answers” about a potential Scotland-wide lockdown, and how long it may last if imposed.
But she stressed: “We have parts of the country under more strict restrictions than other parts of the country – that remains a possibility.
“We’re starting to see in Scotland, and more in England and Europe, that localised outbreaks are becoming a bit more widely spread in the community.
“It’s a bit more spread out which means we have to consider national restrictions.
“We have national restrictions in place just now – the six/two rule (social gatherings of up to six people from two households) – and these are the decisions that we will be pondering over the next few days.”
A total of 23,776 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Scotland, up by 203 from 23,573 on Thursday. This is 4.4% of newly-tested individuals.
One more death was confirmed today, bringing the total number of fatalities to 2,502.
Ms Sturgeon also urged Scots not to travel to the north of England, where further localised lockdowns have been implemented but also told people to really think about their travel plans closer to home.
She said: “I long for the day when we can see who we want and travel where we want to go again.
“This is really difficult stuff but it comes down, if we restrict – as far as possible – our interaction and travel, we can suppress this virus and push it into retreat instead of allowing it to spread.”