Fans to return to Scottish stadiums next week

The Scottish Government has announced that some restrictions which were put in place towards the end of 2021 to combat the rise is Omicron cases in Scotland, are to be lifted on Monday 17 January 2022, but restrictions on indoor events and venues will remain in place until 24 January, when First Minister Nicola Sturgeon hopes the government will be able to lift them.

The restrictions which related mainly to large outdoor events in Scotland, including outdoor sporting matches and concerts (limiting such events to 500 people), are to be lifted, allowing spectators to return to stadiums as of next Monday. The lifting of restrictions will also avoid Scotland's Six Nations rugby matches having to be played behind closed doors at Murrayfield, with Celtic's match with Hibernian on the 17 January to be played before a full crowd at Celtic Park.

Ms Sturgeon stated,

"It is very likely that the situation we face now, though serious, would have been even more challenging without the renewed sacrifices made by people across the country over these last few weeks."

Whilst Sottish business leaders claim that these coronavirus rules had failed to make a "meaningful difference" to infection levels and were causing "enormous damage" to certain sectors.