Fife kept under level three coronavirus restrictions for a further week

Fife is being kept under level three coronavirus restrictions for a further week.

It means people in the Kingdom will face the same rules until the week before Christmas.

Overall, half of all Scotland’s local authorities will move down a level this coming Friday.

The first minister told parliament: "The fall in infection rates in these areas - the most highly populated in the country - have contributed to an improvement in the situation across Scotland as a whole. All of this puts us in a much better position to cope with the inevitable difficulties of winter.

"However, it does not remove the need for a cautious approach. The risks and challenges of the next few months are clear.

"That is why, in reaching decisions today, we have had to consider the potential overall impact of moving to a lower level of restrictions at the same time as the Christmas period begins in earnest."