Nicola Sturgeon has announced that the laws on wearing face coverings in Scotland will not be lifted next week as had been planned
The first minister said people will be required to continue wearing face masks on public transport and in shops until at least early April
But social distancing rules in shops and other indoor public settings will be lifted next Monday, as will the requirement for venues to collect contact details for customers
The first minister confirmed that contact tracing will finish at the end of April, as will free Covid testing - with test sites also to close
The announcement comes against the backdrop of a surge in Covid cases in recent weeks
A total of 1,996 people were in hospital with Covid yesterday - an increase of 191 on the previous day and not far from the peak seen in January of last year
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said the country "can't stay stuck with Covid rules forever"
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.
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.
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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.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe latest vaccination figures show:
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.
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.
Image source, Getty ImagesAn 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.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe 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.
Image source, ReutersNicola Sturgeon will update Holyrood from around 2.20pm
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.