Fife business chief fears some of the Kingdom's businesses won't survive into 2022 amid the impact of coronavirus measures

A Fife business chief fears that some of the Kingdom's firms won't survive into the New Year amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has asked Fifers and people across the rest of Scotland to limit contacts with other households as much as possible amid concerns about the omicron variant of coronavirus.

The Scottish Government is asking people not to gather in groups of more than three households, with guidance available on its website.

Efforts are being made to get as many adults across the country vaccinated with a Covid-19 booster dose as possible in the run up to the New Year.

As of today, 18 to 29-year-olds are now allowed to book an appointment through the NHS Inform website.

A £100 million financial package for eligible firms is being made available by the government.

The government says that business support funding is being allocated to improve adherence to necessary public health measures.

It's also to give support to businesses in hospitality, food supply and in the culture sector that have lost crucial bookings during a key trading period in the run up to Christmas, according to the government.

But the chief executive of the Fife Chamber of Commerce thinks that the money provided doesn't go far enough to help companies that have been affected in recent times.

Alan Mitchell has also expressed concerns about the damage of repeated re-introduction of curbs in the coming years on Fifers, the Kingdom's business community and people's mental health, saying that the damage will be 'incalculable'.

He is telling Kingdom FM that he is concerned 'permanent damage' is being done: