Nicola Sturgeon has announced that Scotland will enter lockdown from midnight in response to the rapidly increasing cases of coronavirus.

Addressing MSPs, the First Minister revealed that a new legally enforceable stay-at-home rule will come into effect in a bid to tackle the spread of the virus.

Mainland Scotland had been in Level 4 – the toughest tier of restrictions since Boxing Day.

However, the new rules will mean people will only be able to leave home for essential purposes while places of worship will be forced to close their doors, similar to the lockdown last March.

The Scottish Government have also announced that schools will stay shut until at least February.

It means that schools will have to move to remote learning until next month having originally planned to return to the classroom on January 18.

On Sunday, the Scottish Government reported 2,464 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours – a higher figure than Saturday’s confirmed increase of 2,137 new cases.