Small gatherings outside may be allowed when lockdown restrictions ease, says First Minister

The First Minister has outlined a range of options the Scottish Government are examining for gradually easing the lockdown.

Nicola Sturgeon was speaking at this afternoon's daily coronavirus briefing.

She outlined some options the government are looking at, including possibly allowing people to exercise outside more than once and allowing a defined small group of people from other households to meet up, but only outside.

Ms Sturgeon also highlighted the gradual re-opening of schools and businesses.

Resuming some NHS and community care services previously stopped is also being looked into.

But she insisted no final decisions have been made at this stage and also emphasised the lockdown is very unlikely to be lifted later this week.

The First Minister also warned about why re-opening nurseries and primary schools immediately could be risky, pointing to data from Denmark.

She said: "If we were to fully re-open nurseries and primary schools now, the most likely scenario would be a resurgence in the virus that would overwhelm our hospital capacity in a matter of weeks."

Meanwhile, it's estimated there are around 26,000 cases of coronavirus around Scotland, which is too high to relax the current lockdown.

The reproduction rate of the virus is currently between 0.7 and 1, but the First Minister said the government can't be sure if the actual figure is closer to 1 than 0.7.

It needs to be well below 1, before the spread of the virus can be considered as well controlled.

The rate is believed to be higher in care home settings.

Nicola Sturgeon is expected to very likely announce the lockdown will be extended for another three weeks on Thursday.