First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is set to update MSPs later today on the latest measures her government is taking in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The statement will come amid a ramp-up in the vaccine rollout, resulting from the introduction of new mass vaccination centres at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) and the P&J Live in Aberdeen.
It will be the first time the first minister has presented the parliamentary update for two weeks, as her deputy John Swinney took her place last Tuesday.
The last time she gave the coronavirus statement, she announced that the lockdown affecting everywhere on the Scottish mainland would be extended until at least the middle of this month, and that the reopening of schools would be delayed.
When can I watch the update?
The first minister is scheduled to address the Scottish Parliament at 2pm, though this may be slightly delayed as members finish work on other matters.
Where will it be shown?
The update will be streamed live on Scottish Parliament TV, while TV viewers can watch on BBC One Scotland or the BBC Scotland channel from 2.15pm.
You can also keep up to date by following our live blog.
What will the first minister announce?
Education and the national lockdown are expected to be top of the agenda once again, as they were two weeks ago.
The Scottish Parliament has already been told that children will not be going back to school any earlier than mid-February, but it remains to be seen whether this date will be clarified or pushed back.
Larry Flanagan, the general secretary of teaching union EIS, urged the government “not to gamble with school safety”, adding: “Everyone is keen to see schools reopen as soon as possible but this can only happen when it is safe to do, both in terms of suppressing community infection levels and also operating schools safely.”
The first minister has said she would set out the government’s position on how and when in-person learning and childcare might resume, and plans for extended testing in schools.
Update on school reopening due as lockdown restrictions reviewed
The lockdown is also set to last until mid-February at least, though no more specific dates for a gradual easing of restrictions have been announced yet.
At yesterday’s coronavirus briefing, Nicola Sturgeon said today’s announcement would include details on “other steps we are planning to take”.
Coronavirus case numbers appear to be on a clear downward trend, with yesterday’s figure of 848 new cases almost a third of what it was this time last month.
Yesterday the first minister said this suggests “the current lockdown is working”, but added that it was not the time to become complacent.
She said: “Case numbers are still high, too high, much higher than we would want them to be, so we need to get them down further – then we need to keep them as low as possible.”
Controlling the spread
At yesterday’s briefing, the first minister also said people could expect more details of a community testing programme, which would make “much more extensive use” of the measure.
Pilot projects were carried out around Scotland towards the end of last year, and it was recently revealed that six asymptomatic testing sites are to be set up in the north-east.
In addition to community testing, Nicola Sturgeon will also give updates on new quarantine measures to be introduced in Scotland.
She said yesterday: “We have already agreed, with other countries across the UK, to introduce supervised quarantine from some countries.
“However, in our view the current UK-wide proposals don’t go far enough, so tomorrow we will provide some more information about the extent to which we intend to operate supervised quarantine here in Scotland.”
She said will detail ways to make travel restrictions “more effective”, adding: “Tomorrow’s statement is also going to cover some of the measures we will be taking to help us control the virus as we continue to suppress it, and in time gradually start to ease the lockdown restrictions.”