coronavirus rules after the country was plunged back into lockdown. Mainland Scotland was placed into tier four at midnight after cases of a new strain of the virus - which public health officials believe could be 70% more transmissible than previous strains - began to climb last week.
Nicola Sturgeon said at an emergency government briefing that "firm preventive action" was needed after the emergence of the faster-spreading strain of Covid.
The First Minister said the speed at which it could spread meant this was "probably the most serious and potentially dangerous juncture we have faced" in the pandemic.
Read more on dailyrecord.co.uk