The First Minister has announced that CV19 restrictions are to be eased - clearing the way for nightclubs to re-open and large indoor events to resume from Monday.
However people are still being asked to work from home and to take lateral flow tests before meeting with others.
Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs that Scotland had "turned the corner on the Omicron wave".
Guidance advising adults against meeting up with more than three households at a time will also be scrapped, along with curbs on indoor contact sports.
Vaccine Passports
And ministers have decided against extending the vaccine passport scheme to more hospitality settings "at this stage".
Ms Sturgeon said the decision on vaccine passports was "finely balanced", but that if case numbers were to rise again then extending the scheme to all hospitality venues "may well be a more proportionate alternative to other, more restrictive measures".
Reaction
Responding to the first minister’s announcement, Russell Borthwick, chief executive of Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: “We welcome the decision to ease the restrictions which have crippled our hospitality and leisure sectors over their most crucial trading period of the year.
“However, the decision to gamble the viability of these firms on stricter measures, which made little difference to infections, will go down as one of the biggest failures of government during this pandemic. This has been compounded by an inability to provide meaningful and prompt support to affected companies."
Home working frustration
He added: “The government has been unable to provide evidence to support the extension of vaccine passports, therefore it is encouraging to see a change of direction from ministers. Similarly, there has been no evidence provided to support the ‘work from home message’, which must now be brought to an end.
“Companies have spent millions on making workplaces safe for staff and visitors, yet still we are forced to sit at our dining tables, distant from colleagues and customers. Offices are a vital part of our town and city centre economies and without the return of the associated footfall, the businesses that support these workers are being placed under existential threat.
“As we exit this Omicron wave, protecting Scottish jobs is every bit as important as limiting the spread of this milder virus. The government must do more to get this balance right.”
Dr Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, added: "Today’s update did not see any clear indication of an end date for the requirements around home working.
"This will confuse and frustrate businesses, particularly those in our town and city centres who rely upon the flow of office workers for income. Businesses are reporting that this inflexibility is having a growing consequence for the productivity and wellbeing of their staff."