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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
PA Media & James Delaney

Covid Scotland: Outdoor crowd ban officially lifted as restrictions change

Coronavirus restrictions on the number of spectators allowed at outdoor events in Scotland have been officially lifted - meaning football and rugby matches can go ahead with fans in the stands.

In response to the Omicron wave, rules were put in place from Boxing Day to limit the number of people who can attend outdoor events to a maximum of 500.

On Tuesday last week, Nicola Sturgeon announced these rules would be eased amid early signs the country had "turned a corner".

Hibernian will kick off the return to capacity crowds when they take on Celtic in Glasgow in the first cinch Premiership match back after the revised winter break on Monday evening.

The top flight shut down for three weeks after the Boxing Day round of fixtures, but matches in the Championship, League One and League Two continued, meaning fixtures including the derby - initially scheduled for January 3 - were pushed back.

Meanwhile, Scotland are due to kick off their Six Nations campaign against England at Murrayfield on February 5.

Scots will still be required to show evidence of vaccination or a recent negative lateral flow test in order to access large events.

Organisers of events with more than 1,000 attendees will be expected to check the Covid status of at least half of those arriving.

Another change coming in on Monday affects the definition of being "fully vaccinated".

For those whose second dose was more than four months ago, they will now require a booster or third dose.

Giving an update to MSPs last week, the First Minister said: "The situation in Scotland just now is undoubtedly serious but perhaps less so than it might have been, and there are also some signs that we may be starting to turn a corner."

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