Here are the main points from Nicola Sturgeon's statement:

• Covid restrictions will not change "immediately" but because of new variant Omicron, the Scottish government will now conduct a daily review of rules

• 28 more cases of the Omicron variant brings the Scottish total to 99
• The doubling time for Omicron cases may be as short as two to three days, and the R number associated with the new variant may be well over two.
• Nine of Scotland's 14 health board areas have now reported Omicron cases.
• It has been confirmed to a "reasonable degree of certainty" that Omicron is more transmissible than the Delta variant.
• Ms Sturgeon has strongly asked employers to let staff work from home from now until the middle of January.
• Anyone aged 12 or over, travelling to the UK from outside the Common Travel Area, will have to take a Covid test before they leave for the UK.
• The FM says the government is not discussing closing schools on a national basis.
• 3,060 people have tested positive for Covid-19 since yesterday.
• A further 12 people have died after testing positive for the virus.
• There are 576 people in hospital.
• There are 38 people in intensive care.

We will be back with live coverage of First Minister's Questions on Thursday and any major developments between now and then. From the live team, have a safe afternoon.

How Omicron could soon overtake the dominant Delta variantpublished at 15:13 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2021

15:13 GMT 7 December 2021

Susie Forrest
Health producer, BBC Scotland

The first minister was able to give us more detail on the spread of Omicron in Scotland.

A total of 99 cases have so far been confirmed by full genomic sequencing in the lab – the only way to be sure they definitely are the new variant.

That’s an increase of 51 since the weekend and a tenfold rise in the space of a week.

If the numbers continue to double at a similar rate, we’ll be looking at more than 1,000 confirmed cases a day by next week – and Omicron could soon overtake the dominant Delta variant.

Currently, we are seeing on average around 3,000 total coronavirus cases reported each day.

But Ms Sturgeon reported another concerning signal. Around 4% of those cases are now showing what scientists call the S-gene dropout – the first sign that they may later be identified as Omicron cases. That represents around 120 cases a day.

All of this has escalated quickly since we first learnt the name Omicron just over a week ago. And that explains why the government says it will now review its decisions around managing this new threat on a daily basis.

Image source, Getty Images

The push to encourage the vaccination programme continues to be supported on all sides of the political debate.

However, mistrust of official agencies is among the main factors influencing the low Covid-19 vaccine uptake in ethnic minority groups, according to research from the University of Aberdeen.

The study also pointed to "lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate information" as well as inconvenient locations and timings of vaccine appointments.

Uptake of the Covid vaccine is lower among people over 50 of African heritage in Scotland than in any other ethnic group, according to Public Health Scotland (PHS) figures. In the under-50s, the uptake is lowest in the Caribbean or Black group.

Prof Shaun Treweek, who led the study, said: "It is essential that organisations promoting vaccine uptake work with ethnic minority communities and organisations to tailor strategies appropriately."

No guarantee that restrictions can be avoidedpublished at 15:05 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2021

15:05 GMT 7 December 2021

Glenn Campbell
BBC Scotland Political Editor

This is a holding statement, more notable for a change in tone rather than any pre-Christmas change in regulations.

While the first minister still hopes new restrictions can be avoided, she offers no guarantees this will be the case.

Nicola Sturgeon has urged tighter compliance with existing rules and made clear the need for additional protections will be kept under daily review.

She also signalled that extending the use of Covid passports remains an option for the Scottish government.

It is clear that ministers are becoming increasingly concerned about the spread of the Omicron variant, with case numbers apparently doubling every 2-3 days.

Because it is spreading faster than previous versions of Covid and may have some vaccine resistance, they worry that it could quickly put the NHS under severe strain.

Image source, Science Photo Library

Mr Sarwar quotes a number of NHS statistics to the first minister - including the thousands of nursing vacancies and the 2,000 children waiting for mental health services.

He urges the first minister to agree to give Parliament a weekly update on how she will tackle emergency issues in the health service.

Ms Sturgeon says she reports regularly on a range of NHS pressures and insists this will continue and indeed possibly "intensify" over winter.

Image source, Getty Images

Accelerating the booster vaccination programme has become the Scotland's main line of defence against the Omicron variant.

There are fears the strain could be more infectious, cause more serious illness and be better at evading vaccines than previous variants.

Every adult in Scotland will now be offered a booster, following the latest guidance from the JCVI - the UK government's vaccine advisors.

More than 1.7 million boosters have been delivered so far and the Scottish government says all eligible over-18s will be offered one by the end of January.

How easy will it be to meet the January target?

Find out here

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar raises the issue of people in Glasgow who have booked vaccine appointments, queued for hours and were turned away when the centre closed.

He asks what the FM will do to ensure people get their vaccinations and what her plans are for the programme over Christmas - particularly on whether drop-in centres will be a consideration.

Ms Sturgeon argues that disruption to vaccine appointments were due to the change in protocol for boosters - that the gap between second and third dose had reduced from 24 to 12 weeks.

She says her government will ensure there are enough staff to deliver vaccine appointments. Over winter, she says, they will work to avoid activity dropping in order to hit the end of January booster target.

Image source, Google

Responding, the first minister tells Mr Ross that the pressure of the pandemic is creating challenges in unscheduled and scheduled care in the NHS - just like many countries all over the world.

She says our A&E departments are performing better than elsewhere in the UK and that she will continue to support them.

To do that, it is important to drive down Covid cases and take measures to keep the NHS safe - the FM adds - and this is where the clinical guidance on GP appointments comes in.

She says it is about screening patients to minimise risk of Covid getting into practices and causing outbreaks.

On school closures, Ms Sturgeon says protecting the education of children is a top priority and that the government is not discussing closing schools on a national basis.

She says everything that can be done to avoid that is being done.

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross encourages everyone to get the Covid vaccine booster.

He says there are actions the government can take to help tackle the challenges facing Scotland's struggling NHS.

Mr Ross brings up the latest A&E figures, saying the winter plan is "inadequate". He asks if the FM accepts the government has not done enough to stop the crisis escalating.

He also brings up the closure of Todholm Primary in Paisley due to an Omicron outbreak, and asks if there are any plans for national school closures.

The first minister brings her speech to a close by again asking everyone to tighten up on all Covid measures.

She acknowledges this may not be what people want to hear, but is the best way of slowing the Omicron variant.

It will give people the "best possible chance" of enjoying a more normal Christmas - and of "avoiding a new year hangover of spiralling cases", she says.

Image source, Getty Images

There has been a lot of talk in recent days about whether a staff "party" at 10 Downing Street last year broke the rules.

Things are a bit different this time around.

Large Christmas gatherings down the pub are not banned.

Many people are now vaccinated, but is an office party or after-work drinks really worth the risk right now?

UK Covid cases are high and still rising and there's a new highly mutated and easy to catch variant called Omicron circulating that could well change the balance of risks.

Some companies already have cold feet and haven't booked anything formal, or have cancelled plans.

But the PM Boris Johnson has says there is no need for this. Large groups can still party at bars, nightclubs or karaoke venues.

Read more here

Another way the first minister wants to tighten up current measures is through testing.

She says people should take a lateral flow test before mixing with people from other households - and on every occasion they do so.

Ms Sturgeon adds that she takes a test before going to work every morning and will ask anyone who comes into her home over Christmas to do so as well.

Image source, Getty Images

Travel rules are next and the FM goes over measures taken.

She says Nigeria has been added to the travel red list which means hotel quarantine for anyone arriving from there.

And since this morning, anyone aged 12 or over, who is travelling to the UK from outside the Common Travel Area, will have to take a Covid test before they leave for the UK.

This is in addition to the day two test after arrival in the UK and to self-isolate pending the result.

Her advice is to check on the Scottish government website for detailed guidance - and to also check the requirements of the country you are travelling to.

Image source, Getty Images

Previously, the Scottish government has advised people to work from home where practical.

The FM says today she is asking employers to "ensure" this measure.

Image source, Getty Images

It has now been confirmed to a "reasonable degree of certainty" that Omicron is more transmissible than the Delta variant, Ms Sturgeon says.

She adds there is also a concern that it may evade "to some extent" immunity from vaccinations.

However, the FM reiterates her position that getting vaccinated will still be important.

The FM highlights the speed of Omicron's transmission.

She says that from nine cases a week ago, cases of the variant have spread tenfold.

That 4% of cases also now show the S gene drop-out which is a sign of Omicron.

Ms Sturgeon says that the doubling time for Omicron cases may be as short as two to three days, and the R number associated with the new variant may be well over two.

She repeats what the statistics have shown today, that nine of Scotland's 14 health board areas have now reported Omicron cases.

The FM expects a "potentially rapid" rise in cases in the days to come and says that from now on, the Scottish government will review the situation on a daily rather than a weekly basis.

Nicola Sturgeon confirms that, as part of the three-week review of Covid measures, the Scottish government has decided to keep all of the current protections.

She says there will be no immediate changes and due to the significant risks of the Omicron variant, it would be "inappropriate" to lift any mitigations in place.

In light of the "rapidly developing" situation with the new variant, she says she will keep the need for additional measures under daily review.

The first minister addresses the Parliament saying she will set out the latest information on the Omicron variant.

She says this will include an update on the world’s developing understanding of the variant and the steps that will be taken in Scotland to slow its spread.

Image source, Getty Images

Scotland's national clinical director Prof Jason Leitch has told BBC Scotland that the Omicron variant of coronavirus appears to be "more transmissible" than Delta.

That appears very much to be a four-nations UK view at the moment, with Boris Johnson's spokesman saying the prime minister told a cabinet meeting exactly that on Tuesday morning.

We'll hear what Nicola Sturgeon has to say on the matter shortly.

A further 28 new cases of the Omicron variant have been identified, bringing the total in Scotland to 99.

There are now just five health boards who have not registered cases of the variant.

They are: Borders, Dumfries & Galloway, Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles.