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“It is almost certain that” additional lockdown restrictions will be put in place in Scotland in the coming days, Nicola Sturgeon said.
Speaking at her daily briefing, the prime minister said “swift and urgent action” is needed to address the growth of the virus.
Sturgeon indicated that a package of new restrictions would be announced in the next 48 hours.
A total of 255 new cases were registered in the last 24 hours.
That accounted for 6.3% of those tested, the third day in a row the “positivity rate” exceeded 5%, which the World Health Organization has said is a key benchmark for a virus to be considered under control.
While no new deaths were reported, the number of people treated at the hospital rose to 73, an increase of 10.
Sturgeon said: “I need to be absolutely direct with people across Scotland, that additional restrictions will almost certainly be put in place in Scotland over the next few days.”
“Hopefully this will be with the four-nation lineup, but if necessary, it will have to happen without that.”
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He said that a meeting of the UK government’s Cobra emergency committee would be held and that he would speak to Prime Minister Boris Johnson directly after the briefing.
Sturgeon added: “In that call, I will put on record my view of the Prime Minister that we need coordinated action, decisive, urgent and where possible given our individual responsibilities across the UK.
“I will be clear that I am willing to allow a little more time for discussions between four nations to take place before making final decisions for Scotland, but I will be equally clear that the urgency of this situation will mean that we cannot, must not and I will not wait too long. “.
The prime minister said she would make a statement to the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday or Wednesday.
‘Move roughly’
Sturgeon did not give details of the new restrictions that would be introduced, but said the government was “very close to a decision point.”
“At the heart of this decision is a simple truth: the longer we wait to introduce new measures, the more likely it is that these measures will be in place,” he said.
“By acting vigorously now to get the virus back under control, we can minimize the time we all spend under new restrictions.”
Public health expert Professor Linda Bauld said likely options could include travel restrictions and curfews or restrictions on hospitality.
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Sturgeon added that there would be financial support for people who need to isolate themselves, particularly those with low incomes.
While higher fines for non-compliance were being considered, he said a better approach was to “remove the barriers” to self-isolation.
She said: “No one should be forced to choose between isolating themselves for the collective good and paying rent and feeding their families.
“If that’s the choice people face, it should come as no surprise that compliance levels are lower than we need.”
The UK government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, previously warned that without further restrictions there could be 50,000 new coronaviruses a day by mid-October. This could lead to as many as 200 deaths a day across the UK in mid-November.
Sir Patrick said that the number of cases is doubling about every seven days and that quick action is needed to reduce the rate of increase.
