The Scottish government will not introduce any national restrictions on travel over the school October holidays, first minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed this afternoon.

Scottish schools have one or two weeks off in October, but there were concerns that a so-called “circuit breaker” lockdown this month would scupper any holiday plans for staff and pupils.

However, it has now been confirmed that new temporary restrictions will not go as far as had been speculated in some parts of the country - although tough new restrictions will apply to five health board areas in the Central Belt for 16 days from Friday at 6pm.

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Schools in some parts of Scotland broke up last week, while others will do so at the end of this week, and in some areas the term ends at the end of next week.

Ms Sturgeon said: “We are not imposing mandatory travel restrictions at this stage, and, specifically, we are not insisting that people cancel any half-term breaks they have planned.

Coronavirus: No half-term ‘circuit breaker’

“However, in general, we are advising people living in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Arran, Lothian and Forth Valley not to travel outside the health board area they live in, if you don’t need to - and, likewise, people in other parts of Scotland should not travel to these areas if they don’t need to.”

Ms Sturgeon also introduced new restrictions for hotels, bars and restaurants.

In Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Arran, Lothian and Forth Valley licensed premises will close for the 16 days, with only cafes allowed to open until 6pm.

In other parts of Scotland, there will be a new curfew of 6pm for indoor licensed premises, and alcohol will be banned inside. Outdoors, bars, pubs, restaurants and cafes can continue to serve alcohol up to the existing curfew time of 10pm.

Ms Sturgeon said: “The reason we are not closing indoor hospitality completely is that we know the benefits, in terms of reducing loneliness and isolation, of giving people - particularly those who live alone - somewhere they can meet a friend for a coffee and a chat.

“But the restrictions will be strictly applied. And all the current regulations and the limits on meeting a maximum of six people from two households will still apply.”

It had been reported that the Scottish government was considering introducing a so-called “circuit breaker” to coincide with the October holidays, which some had speculated would mean a return to a form of lockdown being imposed for around two weeks, to get better control over Covid transmission rates. 

Yesterday, the EIS teaching union published an email it had sent to education secretary and deputy first minister John Swinney, urging him to allow school staff the chance for a proper break over the October holidays “without undue confinement”.

EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said that this term had been “the most stressful that members can remember” and that “workload levels are through the roof”.

He suggested that if the Scottish government needed “to be seen to be doing something” to tackle rising Covid-19 cases, it could find the spaces and employ the additional staff needed to make physical distancing possible or address the difficulties with ventilation that schools face as winter approaches.

Scottish government figures published today show that the pupil absence rate for “Covid-19 related reasons” on Monday was 2.2 per cent. This is the highest figure recorded for around a month and means 14,482 pupils were out of school because they had a positive test, were self-isolating or showing symptoms, or their parents were keeping them out of school. 

Earlier this afternoon, it also emerged that Scotland had recorded more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours for the first time. Health Protection Scotland figures released by the Scottish government indicated 1,054 new cases recorded overnight.

One death from the virus has been recorded in the same period, taking the total under this measure - patients who have died within 28 days of first testing positive - to 2,533.

The new cases represented 13 per cent of newly tested individuals, down from 13.2 per cent on Tuesday. Of the new cases, 410 are in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 195 in Lanarkshire and 190 in Lothian.

A total of 34,760 people have now tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up from 33,706.

There are 319 people in hospital confirmed to have the virus, up by 57 in 24 hours. Of these patients, 28 were in intensive care, up by three.