Covid live: Ireland to drop almost all restrictions next week; school absences in England lowest since November

In addition, Sturgeon announces plans for the legal requirement on businesses to keep customer contact details to end on 21 March.

But in contrast to the UK Government, she says that the Scottish Government will ensure continued access to free PCR and lateral flow tests, saying Scotland is committed to a “robust” testing system.

She also says those testing positive should continue to self-isolate for the time being.

She said:

I must express frustration at the position of the UK government. It is, of course, for the Prime Minister to decide how best to tackle Covid in England.

However, current funding arrangements mean that though taxpayers in all four UK nations contribute to the costs, it is decisions taken for England that determine the resources available to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for testing and other Covid measures.

Scotland’s coronavirus certification scheme will “come to an end” on Monday, Sturgeon confirms.

She says the plans for the legal requirement for people to wear face coverings in some settings to become converted to guidance from 21 March.

However, she says it is “highly likely” the virus will continue to mutate and sets out how Scotland plans to deal with that scenario.

“If a new variant emerged that was more transmissible and more severe, perhaps with the ability to evade vaccine or natural immunity, this threat…