Nicola Sturgeon not ruling out changes to Christmas Covid rules as new strain of coronavirus identified

• Video report by ITV News Presenter Julie Etchingham

Changes to a Christmas break from Covid restrictions are not being ruled out by Nicola Sturgeon, who would prefer households do not mix over the festive season.

As it stands, the four nations of the UK will allow for up to three households to mix between December 23-27.

With a new, faster-spreading strain of the virus identified on Monday, Scotland’s First Minister told ITV News that she will consider “additional precautions.”

“The reason I’m being, perhaps, just a little more cautious now is because we have had this news this afternoon of a new strain of the virus that has been identified,” she said, when asked if she would not rule out changes.

“Now, I’ve just had a briefing from my Chief Medical Officer on that and we’ll be considering whether there are implications that call for any immediate additional precautions.”

She added the reason she agreed to boundaries around Christmas was “pragmatic” and that she does not regret agreeing to the four-nations arrangement.

People should avoid interacting with other households where possible, she added.

“I understand that whatever I or other leaders say there will be some people who find it impossible to stay completely apart from loved ones at Christmas, people who might otherwise be on their own,” she said.

“And therefore I don’t think it is reasonable for people like me to bury our heads in the sand about that, so instead of a free-for-all try to put some boundaries around.

“But also [we must] be very, very clear with people that, in my view, you should be very cautious and if you can avoid interacting with other households that would be my advice to you.”

Christmas will mark the end of a difficult year for the Scottish leader, with a mounting drugs crisis, Brexit and the independence movement all major issues in the country.

ITV News has learned annual drug death statistics, published on Tuesday, will be worse than ever before in Scotland.

But Ms Sturgeon denied the pandemic has distracted her administration from another serious public health issue in the country.

“The drugs taskforce has been meeting throughout the pandemic, making sure that we didn’t lose focus on that as well,” she said.

She added: “With a complex and very serious challenge like this, it does take time to turn that around.

“The chair of the taskforce in the last few days has made comments along those lines but the steps we are taking… that is about investment to improve and expand treatment facilities, but also shorter-term measures like making sure there is more ready access to overdose reversal therapy.”

She said work is ongoing to look at the idea of a “safe-consumption facility” in Glasgow .

Meanwhile, she also denied efforts for a second independence referendum have distracted her from the pandemic.

That’s despite her commenting in her conference speech that “independence in in clear sight.”

“I am completely 100% focused on Covid and dealing with the immediate implications of Covid, trying to get the country through it as safely as possible,” she said.

“What all countries right now are asking themselves is as we recover from Covid what kind of countries and societies do we want to be?

“And for Scotland that does include questions of what powers and resources do we have at our disposal.

“And that does bring to the fore the arguments for Scotland being an independent question, charting our own course not being dragged out of the European Union and being taken down the wrong path as many people believe Boris Johnson is doing.”