All of the major Hogmanay events in Edinburgh, including the street party, the torch-lit procession and the midnight firework display, were cancelled. New Year celebrations in other towns and cities, including Aberdeen, were also scrapped.

In football, Celtic asked for the Scottish Premiership’s three-week winter break, which is due to start after the Old Firm derby on January 3, to be brought forward to “maximise the prospect of all supporters being able to attend matches and support the game they love”.

The imposition of rules on large events came amid Scottish government fears that last Sunday’s League Cup final in front of a capacity crowd at Glasgow’s Hampden Park may have been a “super spreader” event.

John Swinney, the Deputy First Minister, said that he regretted not making the decision to play matches without spectators sooner.

SNP ministers were repeatedly challenged last week to explain how they could allow the match to go ahead when Ms Sturgeon was instructing Scots to limit their social gatherings to three households.

Colin Wilkinson, the managing director of the SLTA, said the restrictions “could well be the knock-out blow for many in the battered and bruised licensed hospitality sector in Scotland”.

James Calder, the chief executive of the Society of Independent Brewers, said: “Scottish pubs have gone out of their way to make themselves Covid secure throughout this pandemic and are often lower risk venues than the inevitable house parties that people will flock to as new restrictions are introduced.”

January ‘looking bleak for businesses’

Dr Liz Cameron, the SCC’s chief executive, said the restrictions were another blow to firms that had already lost millions of pounds this year.

Although she welcomed the support on offer from the UK and Scottish governments, she said: “It still does not go anywhere near far enough to compensate for the enormous financial losses firms are experiencing. January is beginning to look increasingly bleak for businesses and the prospect of an early return to economic growth in the New Year is now clearly at risk.”

Andy McRae, the Scotland policy chairman for the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “The measures outlined today will make trading drastically more difficult for huge numbers of small businesses in Scotland.

“The social distancing restrictions will mean shops and hospitality firms can serve fewer customers. And the changes to events, such as sports matches and Hogmanay celebrations, will have a knock-on impact on local economies.”

The organisers of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay street party said they were “incredibly sad” the event had been cancelled for the second year running.

Charlie Wood and Ed Bartlam, the co-directors of organisers Underbelly, said many people would be left disappointed “after such a tough year”.