The first minister says it will be the first step out of lockdown, but urges people not to get carried away.

• The first minister says there could be an easing of outdoor meeting restrictions next week.
• This may involve allowing more young people to meet outdoors.
• But Ms Sturgeon warns against complacency and says, for now, the stay at home rule still applies.
• The FM is hopeful Scotland will be able to host Euro 2020 football matches, with fans inside stadiums, this summer.
• Ms Sturgeon cautions that international travel may have to wait because of the risk of importing new variants.

• Nurses' vaccination shift payments to be looked into after doctors and dentists were paid more.
• 11 more deaths registered in the past 24 hours of people who tested positive in the last 28 days.
• That brings the total number of deaths by that measure to 7,409.
• The first minister confirms a further 498 people have tested positive for Covid-19.
• That represents 3.1% of the tests carried out yesterday.
• A further 29,064 people have received their first dose of the vaccine.
• In addition, 8,139 received their second dose.

That's all from our live page coverage of the government's Covid briefing. We will be back on Monday.

Georgina Hayes from the Telegraph asks about vaccinated people socialising more than those still waiting and what risks this may bring. Will it create a "two-tier society"?

The first minister says if people start to socialise then there is a risk and she reminds people that it takes a while for the protection to kick in.

She says we don't know for sure how much the vaccine stops people from passing on the virus.

She says the rules regarding stay at home and not mixing households still applies to everyone and it is important that we stick with it.

Back in the briefing, the FM is asked by Conor Matchett from the Scotsman about young people who fear they will be left behind by vaccine-passport type policies as they are the last to receive their jabs.

He asks for reassurance for young Scots that they will not be stuck in their flats while their parents are free to go on holiday.

Ms Sturgeon says that she aims to have the whole adult population vaccinated with the first dose by the end of July.

She says she worries about younger teenagers, aged 13-15 and getting them back to school and back to normality. She says everyone else can help create the environment when their lives can go back to normal. She says young people are the priority.

Jason Leitch jumps in and mentions ongoing trials of vaccines in young children.

He says in time we will "almost certainly" vaccinate children and this would perhaps be in round two in the autumn/winter of this year if trials go well.

He adds that vaccination at scale is about protecting the population, even the unvaccinated.

New Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar welcomes the figures relating to deaths, hospitalisation and test positivity.

But he adds the caveat that the number of tests has also reduced significantly to "nowhere near the capacity we should be using".

Mr Sarwar tells the BBC One programme: "There are signs for optimism but we need to be guarded against any complacency too."

He says it is right for the first minister to take a staged and phased approach to coming out of lockdown that focuses on the data.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross tells Graham Stewart on the BBC One programme that he is "pleased" the Scottish government has "U-turned" and accelerated some of the route map decisions.

He says he thought the original plan "lacked ambition" given the positive progress.

On the reopening of schools, he says pupils should be back in school as soon as possible and could be achieved with testing for senior pupils by the middle of March.

He comments on the issue of the Euro 2020 tournament being at risk of being pulled from Hampden, saying "if we continue to get the rates of infection down then there are opportunities and having waited a very long time to see our men's team qualify for a major tournament, I want to see the Tartan Army in Hampden, hopefully celebrating a win".

He also talks about this week's budget and says it was "good news" for Scotland, highlighting £1.2bn of extra support, and a freeze on spirits duty.

He is asked, if he was first minister, what pay rise he would be in favour of giving to nurses?

Mr Ross says it is right it is decided by an independent panel and says there is no doubt everyone in the NHS has done an "outstanding job" over the past 12 months.

Social psychologist Professor Stephen Reicher tells the BBC One programme the latest figures are very positive.

Prof Reicher, who advises both the Scottish and the UK governments, says new evidence continues to show that vaccines are more effective than had been predicted.

"They are also effective in nearly all age groups, so that is more good news", he adds.

Looking ahead to lockdown restrictions being eased, Prof Reicher says a return to contact with family and friends is vital as research has shown that people in self-isolation suffer more mental and physical health problems than heavy drinkers or smokers.

"Getting back to a situation where we are in contact with our friends and loved ones is extremely important."

The next journalist from Global Radio asks for an update on the number of passengers who have been traced who were on the Heathrow to Aberdeen flight where three cases of the Brazilian variant were detected, and if there has been community transmission.

The FM says that no further cases other than the original three have been identified, suggesting there has been no community transmission.

As of this morning, 69 individuals from the flight have been contacted - 13 of those are no longer in Scotland. It is believed there were 90 people on the flight.

Those who are here have not reported symptoms.

She says work is ongoing to contact the remaining passengers. Some phone numbers are not accurate and some are not being answered.

More than 223 secondary contacts have been identified.

She says the positive thing is that so far there is no evidence of onward community transmission.

Image source, Getty Images

The first minister is asked about concerns that Scotland could miss out on hosting international football matches at this summer's European Championship.

Ross Govans from STV asks if she is able to give European football's ruling body Uefa assurances that significant numbers of fans would be allowed inside Hampden for the games.

Ms Sturgeon says she "certainly hopes so". She says all country's are grappling with questions about fan attendance and fan zones around stadiums but the deadline for giving Uefa a decision has not been reached yet.

"We are standing here on the 5th of March and while we are hopeful, looking too far forward is just too difficult to do."

Aileen Clarke from the BBC has the first question. Firstly she asks about concerns of nurses who say they are being paid less than other health staff like doctors and dentists, for vaccination shifts and are feeling "undervalued".

Her second question asks when Scots with vaccinations can head abroad on holiday.

Ms Sturgeon says nursing staff are "hugely valued" for their work during the pandemic. She says the way vaccinators are paid reflects the job they do. She says nurses' rates have already changed to reflect the band they are currently at.

Image source, PA Media

She says she will revisit this because she "doesn't want any healthcare worker not feeling valued for the important job they do".

On the second point of saying people can go on holiday, she adds that she doesn't want to say anything before there is "some degree of certainty" that there is no risk.

She says we are some way away from some sort of certification to allow international travel as there are issues to work through, both ethically and practically.

She adds that the biggest risk at the moment is as we suppress the virus here, we have new variants coming in from elsewhere that are more severe, or at worst undermine the efficacy of the vaccine.

She says the travel restrictions may be the most important protection we have for the next period of the pandemic.

Scotland's national clinical director Prof Jason Leitch says he is more hopeful than he has been for some time as rates continue to go in the right direction.

He points to fewer than 500 cases being found with testing yesterday and in the days preceding - a key target for Scotland as far as World Health Organization guidelines go.

The last time Scotland was consistently below 500 a day was at the end of September last year.

But Prof Leitch says we must be wary because of what happened from then until the turn of the year.

"It accelerated very quickly and got out of control."

The situation has been mirrored with hospitalisations and deaths.

That is why it is so important to stick to the guidance, he adds.

Ms Sturgeon's second point is on testing.

She says that since the start of the year, testing for people in key public services has expanded and also at food production businesses, which are settings that present a higher risk of transmission.

She says that under the Scottish government scheme employers are supplied with free lateral flow tests which are voluntary for staff.

She invites other businesses to sign up to the scheme at foodsupplyinformation@gov.scot

She finishes by reiterating the FACTS advice.

And she says she is "really optimistic" she will continue to see the progress needed to open up to normality.

She says there are "better days lying ahead".

After her update on the daily statistics, Nicola Sturgeon says the progress on vaccinations and dropping cases mean she is "hopeful" she can make some minor but important changes to our ability to meet outdoors.

She hints that this may involve allowing more young people to meet outdoors.

However, she says we should not get "carried away yet" and that the "stay at home" message needs to remain for a bit longer.

She says that if we can, we should all get more opportunity to see loved ones in the first steps out of lockdown.

Image source, Getty Images

As of 08:30 today, 1,717,6762 people had received their first dose of the vaccine, an increase of 29,064 since yesterday.

In addition, 8,139 received their second dose.

Overall, a total of 108,197 people have received second doses.

Nicola Sturgeon begins her briefing by outlining the latest figures.

The first minister confirms a further 498 people have tested positive for Covid-19, which is 3.1% of the tests carried out yesterday.

When the positivity rate is under 5%, the World Health Organization classes the pandemic as being under control.

The total number of positive cases in Scotland is now 204,553.

There are 666 people in hospital, which is down 52.

There are 64 people in intensive care, down three from yesterday.

There have also been 11 more deaths registered in the past 24 hours of people who tested positive in the last 28 days. That brings the total number of deaths by that measure to 7,409.

Image source, Getty Images

Nicola Sturgeon will begin the Scottish government's coronavirus briefing imminently, with national clinical director Jason Leitch joining her.

You can follow the latest developments right here and watch or listen live by clicking on one of the tabs above - for coverage on BBC One Scotland, the BBC Scotland channel or BBC Radio Scotland.

Here's where to find the detail of the lockdown rules:

1. Scottish government - Coronavirus: What you can and cannot do, external

From Tuesday 5 January, mainland Scotland moved from level four to a temporary lockdown, with new guidance to stay at home, external except for essential purposes.

• Read a quick guide to what you can and cannot do: stay at home infographic, external
• Download the Protect Scotland app, external from NHS Scotland

2. Scottish government - Coronavirus: Strategic Framework update - February 2021, external

The first minister set out the plan to restore, in a phased way, greater normality to our everyday lives

3. BBC Scotland - Covid in Scotland: What rules are changing, and when?

Image source, Antonio Caraballo

An Edinburgh father is seeking legal advice over the Scottish government's managed quarantine scheme.

Antonio Caraballo believes hotel quarantine rules will prevent children who live abroad from being able to visit a parent in Scotland.

His 10-year-old son Sami arrived in Edinburgh from Finland in February, and it was expected he would isolate at his father's home.

But Mr Caraballo ended up having to isolate with Sami at an airport hotel.

Now he believes that forcing unaccompanied children to quarantine is affecting their rights to have access to their parents.

Read more here