People who test positive for CV19 in Scotland will be allowed to exit self-isolation after seven days if they have no fever and record two negative lateral flow tests.
The changes, which will take effect from midnight, brings Scotland into line with England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Household contacts of people with the virus will be allowed to take tests rather than going into quarantine, so long as they have had a booster shot.
However, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs that no other changes will be made to Scotland's pandemic restrictions for at least another week, leaving many businesses effectively shutdown for another seven days.
More funding announced
The first minister also announced a £55million fund to support taxis, hairdressers, sports and tourism operators who have been hit by the new restrictions introduced last month. It will be broken down as follows:
- Up to £28 million will be allocated to taxi and private hire drivers and operators;
- £19 million will support services such as beauticians and hairdressers; and
- £5 million will be provided for sport, and an additional £3 million for tourism.
New framework
The first minister also said the government is drawing up “a revised strategic framework” to move Scotland to a “less restrictive” society in managing the impacts of the pandemic.
She highlighted a “need to continue to adapt our thinking about how to manage the virus” and “become more resilient to it in future”.
Earlier this week, Mark Woolhouse, one of the Scottish Government's CV19 advisers, said officials should not to be surprised by new variants and not to respond each one in an ad hoc fashion.
“We should agree a sliding scale of interventions and trigger points for implementing them," he said.
"With omicron it all feels a bit chaotic. We need better planning and preparation for when the next variant arrives, as it surely will."
Reaction
Responding to the first minister’s statement, Russell Borthwick, chief executive at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: “The first minister’s commitment to evolve the way government responds to this pandemic, through a new strategic framework, is perhaps recognition of the fact that a member of its Covid-19 Advisory Group has this week described the interventions in response to Omicron as chaotic. What this must not be, however, is another blueprint to go backwards.
“Despite mounting evidence that Omicron is far less severe that previous Covid-19 variants, we have a continuation of this economic lockdown, which is affecting a range of sectors, effectively shutting down businesses and starving high streets of the footfall required to survive.
“The funding being made available to businesses remains a drop in the ocean compared to the losses being incurred, and this is being compounded by the fact that it is not reaching firms quickly enough. Be in no doubt that tens of thousands of jobs are at risk here.
“The choice facing the Scottish Government should be clear – either put in place a scheme that provides full reparation for lost income and increased costs to companies affected by the stricter measures introduced in December, or allow the economy to re-open now with proportionate safeguards in place.”