Scotland to allow people to meet outside from tomorrow as lockdown relaxed, Nicola Sturgeon announces

Scotland will begin easing lockdown from tomorrow, allowing people to meet outdoors from a distance, Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed.

The First Minister said the country will move to phase one of her four-stage plan to loosen the curbs.

It will mean that Scots can meet people from one other household, sunbathe and take part in some non-contact sports.

Ms Sturgeon said she made the move because the "prevalence of the virus is decreasing", citing the critical R rate - the reproduction rate of the virus - as being below 1 for three weeks.

The SNP leader said: "The R number remains in a range of 0.7 to 1, and we can't be certain how far below 1 it is."

She added: "We can now move into phase one, of our four-phase route map out of lockdown."

Ms Sturgeon said her confidence in the move to phase one was boosted by the rollout of a contact tracing scheme in Scotland.

The Test and Protect scheme, which is distinct from the NHS England scheme that launched today, is aimed at stopping the spread of the virus.

Scots who are symptomatic will be tested and their contacts traced should they have the virus.

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