All measures will be reviewed on Jan 11, almost two weeks after her Dec 31 target for 80 per cent of the adult population to get their booster vaccination. It is hoped the population’s protection against omicron will be “maximised” at this point. 

But the Scottish Chambers of Commerce said her new restrictions were a “hammer blow for employers and Scotland’s economy” and warned the financial support on offer “still does not go anywhere near far enough”.

Among the other major announcements in Ms Sturgeon’s statement were:

• Schools will be reopened without delay after the Christmas holidays as a “priority”.
• Scotland’s struggling Test & Protect contact tracing system is to start contacting positive cases by text or email rather than phone.
• Her strict policy that everyone in the household of a positive case must self-isolate for 10 days is to be eased.

The average daily number of omicron cases in Scotland has surged by more than 50 per cent over the past week, from 3,500 to 5,500. This included a 161 per cent surge among the 20- to 24-year-olds, most of whom have yet to have a booster jab.

Ms Sturgeon said the variant had a “R number well above three”, meaning each carrier infects on average at least three other people. However, the number of Scots in hospital and intensive care both fell on Tuesday.

‘This statement feels distressingly similar to last year’s’

She said: “This statement feels distressingly similar to the one I gave this time last year. Just a few days before Christmas, I am again urging people to stay at home as much as possible, to slow down a highly infectious new variant.

“But, although it may not feel like it, we are in a much stronger position than last year. We have had far fewer restrictions in place for much of this year than was the case last year.

“Christmas Day will be more normal. Most importantly, a rapidly increasing number of adults is now protected by three doses of vaccine.”

From 5am on Sunday, Ms Sturgeon said indoor standing events will be limited to 100 people, indoor seated events to 200 and outdoor events to 500 seated or standing.

“And it will also mean that large scale Hogmanay celebrations including that planned here in our capital city will not proceed,” she said. “I know how disappointing this will be for those looking forward to these events, and for the organisers of them.” 

However, she said the limits did not apply to private events such as weddings.

She added that amateur indoor contact sports for adults would also be banned for three weeks from Boxing Day because they create a “heightened risk of transmission”. 

Ms Sturgeon also disclosed that Test & Protect’s contact tracing teams are to focus on “higher risk settings” such as hospitals and care homes.

“For many of us, this means that if we test positive, our contact from Test & Protect teams is more likely to be by text or e-mail, rather than phone call,” she said.

As more Scots get their booster jabs, Ms Sturgeon said she wanted to change her policy forcing everyone in a household with a positive case to self-isolate for 10 days.

She said: “The Government is actively considering as the booster programme meets its target moving away from the current situation to something more proportionate, but it would be counterproductive to do that right now.”