Covid-19: All major restrictions may be lifted by August 9

All remaining major Covid-19 restrictions could be lifted in the north-east - and the rest of Scotland - by August 9.

The first minister hopes that is the date the country will move beyond level 0 restrictions, and closer to normality.

It may include a removal of the requirement to physically distance from people, indoors and outdoors.

But the Scottish Government is unlikely to recommend a full return to office working at that point.

Meanwhile the current level 1 restrictions will remain in place until July 19 - three weeks later than initially planned.

Nicola Sturgeon said: "From July 19, and then more substantially, from August 9 – assuming we are meeting our revised strategic aim of alleviating the harm of the virus – life should feel much less restricted for all of us.

"A very significant degree of normality will be restored – for individuals and for businesses. As I said earlier, these are indicative dates, but they allow us to plan ahead with more clarity. As always, we all have a part to play in keeping us on track.

"Up until now, the Scottish Government’s strategic intention has been to ‘suppress the virus to the lowest possible level and keep it there’. From now, our aim will be to ‘suppress the virus to a level consistent with alleviating its harms while we recover and rebuild for a better future’.

"This change reflects the fact that vaccination is reducing – we hope significantly – the harm that the virus causes.

"Physical distancing has been an important mitigation against the virus but it is also burdensome for individuals and costly for businesses. So as vaccinations bear more of the load of controlling the virus, we need to consider when and to what extent we can reduce the legal requirement for it.

"Ultimately we hope to remove the legal requirement for physical distancing – even though we may continue to advise people to think about safe distancing when interacting with people outside their close contact groups."

From June 28  

• suppliers and others employed at a wedding will no longer count towards the cap on attendance
• A bride, groom and other designated persons accompanying them no longer require to wear face-coverings when walking down the aisle
• live entertainment will be permitted at weddings
• more than one household will be permitted to carry the coffin and/or take a cord at a funeral crematoriums and churches can relay funeral services to outside areas

From July 19

• celebrations of life events such as christenings, bar mitzvahs and anniversaries will be permitted to take place under similar guidelines as weddings and funerals
• different households will be able to share a bedroom in tourist accommodation