BreakingMasks to remain on public transport and in shops
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says face covering will remain on public transport and in shops.
It will be reviewed in two weeks time.
Other restrictions such as a requirement for venues to collect contact details will be removed on Monday.
FM highlights increase in cases
Nicola Sturgeon turns to the Covid pandemic and tells the chamber she will shortly reveal her cabinet's decision about lifting the limited measures that remain in law.
The first minister gives MSPs a brief overview of the state of the pandemic, reflecting on the recent increase in cases.
The first minister gets to her feet and begins by addressing the issue of Ukrainian refugees.
She says the UK government has indicated support in principle for the idea of Scotland being a super sponsor.
Latest vaccination figures published
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
The latest vaccination figures show:
4,441,175 people have received their first dose
4,171,128 have received their second dose
And 3,468,504 have received a third dose or booster
Analysis
Analysis: How fast are cases rising?
The daily case number figures started picking up again at the start of March after a period when they appeared to flatline around the 5,500 a day level.
But with a much greater reliance on self-administered lateral flow tests rather than PCR testing there's a suspicion that many positive results aren't reported - and the true level may be much higher.
Another measure of infection is the weekly Office for National Statistics survey, where swabs are taken from thousands of households across the UK to give a snapshot of how widespread the disease is.
BBCCopyright: BBC
The ONS figures (red) suggest cases have been rising faster than the daily case number figures (blue) would indicateImage caption: The ONS figures (red) suggest cases have been rising faster than the daily case number figures (blue) would indicate
If you compare the two sets of data you find they closely matched each other for much of last year but from January this year the ONS figures for Scotland suggest a much higher level of infection than is reflected in the daily numbers.
The most recent ONS survey indicates that one in 18 Scots had Covid in the week to 6 March, the equivalent of nearly 300,000 people which is the highest figure since ONS sampling began in autumn 2020.
Live Reporting
BBC Scotland News
All times stated are UK
BreakingMasks to remain on public transport and in shops
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says face covering will remain on public transport and in shops.
It will be reviewed in two weeks time.
Other restrictions such as a requirement for venues to collect contact details will be removed on Monday.
FM highlights increase in cases
Nicola Sturgeon turns to the Covid pandemic and tells the chamber she will shortly reveal her cabinet's decision about lifting the limited measures that remain in law.
The first minister gives MSPs a brief overview of the state of the pandemic, reflecting on the recent increase in cases.
And we're off...
The first minister gets to her feet and begins by addressing the issue of Ukrainian refugees.
She says the UK government has indicated support in principle for the idea of Scotland being a super sponsor.
Latest vaccination figures published
The latest vaccination figures show:
Analysis: How fast are cases rising?
The daily case number figures started picking up again at the start of March after a period when they appeared to flatline around the 5,500 a day level.
But with a much greater reliance on self-administered lateral flow tests rather than PCR testing there's a suspicion that many positive results aren't reported - and the true level may be much higher.
Another measure of infection is the weekly Office for National Statistics survey, where swabs are taken from thousands of households across the UK to give a snapshot of how widespread the disease is.
If you compare the two sets of data you find they closely matched each other for much of last year but from January this year the ONS figures for Scotland suggest a much higher level of infection than is reflected in the daily numbers.
The most recent ONS survey indicates that one in 18 Scots had Covid in the week to 6 March, the equivalent of nearly 300,000 people which is the highest figure since ONS sampling began in autumn 2020.
Read more
BreakingAlmost 2,000 Covid patients in hospital
An update on hospital numbers was published on Monday and the latest figures continue to show a rise in patient numbers.
A total of 1,996 people - up 191 - were in hospital yesterday with recently confirmed Covid-19.
And 33 people were in intensive care - up five.
The number of people in hospital is not far short of the whole pandemic peak that was seen in January 2021.
BreakingAlmost 39,000 Covid cases confirmed since the weekend
The Scottish government has published Covid case numbers for the last three days after a technical issue delayed the update on Monday.
As a result this is the first insight into the latest number of cases, deaths and vaccinations as the figures are not published at the weekend.
The figures reveal 38,770 new cases of Covid were reported since Saturday.
A further 25 deaths have also been recorded following a positive test.
Welcome
Welcome to our live coverage of the first minister's Covid update on Tuesday 15 March 2022.
Nicola Sturgeon is expected to confirm whether the remaining Covid rules will be lifted as planned on the 21st of March.
This includes the requirement to wear a face covering in shops and on public transport.
It comes as Covid cases have been rising sharply.