Concern is growing over the new Covid-19 Omicron variant after several hundred cases have been discovered in the UK. Scotland now has over 100 cases of the Omicron Covid variant, with Nicola Sturgeon set to make a statement later today.
Public Health Scotland warned people to avoid Christmas parties due to spread of the new variant across the country. The World Health Organisation (WHO) designated the new B.1.1.529 strain as a 'variant of concern' on November 26.
First identified in South Africa, the variant has forced many countries - including the UK - to tighten travel restrictions in a bid to prevent its spread.
Dr Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association, who was one of the first people to suspect the Omicron