Nicola Sturgeon has insisted Scotland is in a better place in the fight against coronavirus thanks to the emergency Omicron restrictions brought in over the festive season.
The First Minister was last week accused by opposition leaders of being too "gung-ho" when her government reintroduced social distancing in hospitality venues and effectively banned large crowds at sporting events.
Scotland stood in contrast to England over Christmas after the UK Government declined to impose tougher restrictions - except for the reintroduction of face masks in public places.
But the SNP leader today insisted the comparison with south of the Border was not as important as looking at whether Scotland was "in a better position than we were previously".
It comes as all temporary Omicron restrictions north of the Border will come to an end on Monday.
Asked if additional restrictions in Scotland were worth it, Sturgeon told the BBC's Sunday Morning show: "Yes, I think they were.
"Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were in broadly the same place and took broadly the same approach. England took a different approach, as it was entitled to do.
"If you look at the ONS survey, in terms of the detail, around 5.5 per cent of the population of England were estimated to have the virus - it was around 4.5 per cent in Scotland."
She continued: "Overall, throughout this pandemic, levels of infection have been lower in Scotland - at times they have been higher - but overall they have been lower."
Pressed by presenter Sophie Raworth if the restrictions were worth it given the impact on people's lives, the First Minister continued: "The short answer is yes - even though they do have a big impact on businesses and individuals.
"While I understand the Scotland - England comparison, it's not in my view the most important one.
"The most important one is - is Scotland in a better position than we were previously, and are we in a better position than we would have been without these restrictions?
"It's always difficult to prove cause and effect, but if you look at what we were predicting would be the case in January - around 50,000 infections a day - we didn't see that materialise.
"I think that was a combination of the acceleration of the booster campaign in Scotland, the sensible protective measures we introduced before Christmas, and the magnificent response of the public.
"So yes, I think what we did has been worth it."
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