Ms Sturgeon says the Scottish government is considering its next steps "very carefully" and has to move quickly.

She will be consulting on a four-nations basis.

And she says she will raise the question of financial support from the UK government in a Cobra meeting this afternoon.

The first minister promises to keep the public and parliament updated in the days ahead.

She says we must do all we can to break transmission chains.

Image source, Getty Images

The first minister says there are 60 ScotRail cancellations today due to staff shortages. She says these shortages are mainly due to Covid.

Ms Sturgeon adds that many staff at a Lanarkshire A&E department are having to isolate after becoming infected with Omicron at a social event.

"All of this means Omicron is an immensely concerning development," she adds.

Image source, Getty Images

Ms Sturgeon says that even if a small percentage of people need hospital care, a small percentage of a large number is still likely to put massive strain on the NHS.

She says that large numbers of people having to isolate will put strain on the economy.

Ms Sturgeon says that the R number associated with Omicron is likely to be well over 2, close to 3.

She estimates the R number overall in Scotland is likely to rise above 2.

And she says that it is no longer a question of if we are facing a surge in cases, but when.

She says Omicron is more capable of infecting people who have previously been infected.

And she says vaccines may be less efficient in fighting the virus.

Ms Sturgeon adds that we do not yet know if Omicron causes more, or less, serious illness.

The first minister says there are now 110 confirmed cases of Omicron.

Ten days ago there were nine, she says.

The first minister says Omicron is rising exponentially - the fastest exponential growth we have seen in the pandemic so far and says the variant is doubling every two and three days and is closer to two.

She says if that continues, Omicron will overtake Delta as the dominant strain in Scotland and adds that this is likely to happen within days.

Nicola Sturgeon gives the latest Covid statistics.

She says:

• There are 5,018 new positive cases, that's 9.3% of all tests carried out.
• She points out this is a sharp rise on the average of about 2,800 cases per day that have been reported recently.
• This underlines the government's fear that "a new wave may be starting".
• 573 people are in hospital, five fewer than yesterday.
• 40 people are receiving intensive care - one more than yesterday.
• 19 more deaths have been reported, taking the total under this measurement to 9,707.
• 4,358,725 people have had one dose of the Covid vaccine.
• 3,967,477 double doses have been administered.
• 2,000,915 people have received a booster dose.

Nicola Sturgeon starts by saying that throughout the pandemic she has tried to be open and upfront about the challenges confronting us.

She says this is another moment when such frankness is important.

She adds that she is going to "level with us" on the state of the Omicron variant spread and says we face a renewed and "very severe challenge" and a "potential tsunami" of infections.

One further case of Omicron was confirmed on Thursday.

However, changes to data gathering mean there is a delay in recording cases. It is expected this will increase significantly in the coming days.

There was a total of 109 Omicron cases in Scotland yesterday, which has risen from just nine when it was first detected here on 30 November.

Glasgow's health board has the most cases, followed by Lanarkshire and Forth Valley.

The first cases were linked to a single event. Subsequently, outbreaks have been linked to a Steps concert and to Christmas parties.

Overall, 3,196 Covid cases were recorded yesterday, with 16 further deaths of people following a positive test.

The problem with Christmas parties being a grey areapublished at 12:12 Greenwich Mean Time 10 December 2021

12:12 GMT 10 December 2021

Connor Gillies
Consumer Affairs Correspondent

This is a difficult one for both business and consumers. There is no law to stop Christmas parties or office get togethers. This is advice.

The key word is "defer". Public health officials have avoided specifically urging us to cancel our Christmas parties. Nevertheless, many people have jumped in to making decisions amid the Omicron threat.

One business owner told me they were at their “wits end” and had been inundated with cancellations.

It will be very difficult for people to get deposits back for gatherings which are now cancelled. It’s a grey area. Businesses will have bought huge amounts of food and alcohol in preparation for this big festive rush. They feel this advice has dented consumer confidence.

The law is much clearer if an organised event, like a panto or show, is cancelled. Consumers would be entitled to a refund.

We’re told “if it feels like a party, then it probably is a party”. The onus is on us to decide.

Image source, Getty Images

Hospitality businesses in Scotland say they've had "non-stop cancellations" since people were urged to cancel Christmas parties on Thursday evening.

Public Health Scotland said people should postpone plans to help "protect ourselves" despite conflicting advice from the national clinical director.

Stephen Montgomery, from the Scottish Hospitality Group, said the industry had been dealt a "heavy blow".

He told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme customers were already being careful by organising smaller parties instead of large corporate events.

But the announcement started an avalanche of calls.

The first minister gave her weekly Covid update to MSPs on Tuesday.

This week Nicola Sturgeon announced that due to concern over the spread of the new Omicron variant, mitigation measures would be reviewed by the Scottish government on a daily basis.

Since that briefing, the UK government announced that England would adopt "Plan B" measures from next week.

Scotland already has many of those measures in place including mandatory mask-wearing and vaccine passports.

On Thursday, Public Health Scotland urged people to cancel Christmas parties after a number of outbreaks of Omicron were linked to festive gatherings.

It is expected the FM will update on infection numbers and the most up-to-date situation.

Image source, PA Media

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the first minister's Covid briefing on Friday 10 December.

Nicola Sturgeon will be joined by the chief medical officer Prof Gregor Smith and Prof Jason Leitch, the national clinical director.

She is expected to give an update on the current situation regarding the Omicron variant and then take media questions virtually.

We will bring you all the developments here and you can watch a live stream of the session or BBC Scotland coverage using the tabs at the top of this page.