First Minister @NicolaSturgeon: "Firstly, can I thank you, Presiding Officer, for this recall of Parliament today and join you in wishing everyone all the very best for a new year that we hope, despite its very difficult start, will bring better times."
NS: "The Cabinet met this morning to assess the up to date Covid situation - which I must say at the outset is extremely serious - and to discuss what further action is necessary to minimise further spread of the virus. I will set out our decisions shortly."
NS: "However, I can confirm now, in summary, that we decided to introduce from midnight tonight, for the duration of January, a legal requirement to stay at home except for essential purposes. This is similar to the lockdown of March last year."
NS: "However, before I set out these decisions in more detail, I want to take the opportunity to explain in some detail why they are so necessary.
In the last few weeks, there have been two significant game changers in our fight against this virus."
NS: "One, the approval of vaccines, is hugely positive and offers us the way out of this pandemic.
But the other - the new faster spreading variant of the virus - is a massive blow."
