Nicola Sturgeon

Scotland's vaccine passport scheme could be rolled out to cinemas, theatres and more hospitality venues from 6 December, the First Minister has confirmed.

Nicola Sturgeon said a final decision would not be taken until next Tuesday.

But she told Holyrood that The Rules may need to be tightened to get through winter without a new lockdown.

The Passport scheme currently only applies to nightclubs and major events such as concerts and football matches.

A decision had been widely expected to be made This Week , with opposition leaders accusing the government of creating " wholly avoidable uncertainty" for businesses that could be affected.

Ms Sturgeon told MSPs there had been a " gradual increase" in new cases of Covid-19 over The Last Two Weeks , from just over 2,500 new cases per day to around 3,000 per day.

And She Said The Number of patients in hospital with The Virus was " extremely high" - despite having fallen over recent weeks - with pressure on the health service expected to increase in winter.

The First Minister said the vaccine passport scheme was making " an important and proportionate contribution to stemming transmission".

But She Said a final decision on whether it would be extended would be taken until 23 November, once minister have taken account of the " most up to date data".

Ms Sturgeon said the government was also considering whether a negative test result could be provided instead of proof of vaccination, as happens in most other countries that have introduced vaccine passports.

She also said choosing not to be vaccinated without good reason was " deeply irresponsible, " and urged people to do their " civic duty" by getting jabbed.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross accused the government of having " a total lack for respect for Scottish businesses".

He Said : " The government has delayed again, creating wholly avoidable uncertainty. Businesses are Once Again being left in The Dark and treated as an afterthought.

" They might have less than Two Weeks to adapt to changes to the vaccine passport scheme at one of the busiest times of the year for the hospitality industry. "

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said ministers should commit to engaging with affected businesses and offering them financial support if new measures are introduced.

He also said Ms Sturgeon should accept that providing a negative test should have been an option in The System from the outset, saying: " Testing should always have been at The Heart of our Covid reduction strategy. "

The First Minister said allowing a negative test to be included was a " finely balanced" decision, saying it could be argued that the scheme had helped to drive vaccine uptake.

However She Said Scotland may now be in a position to include this option due to high levels of uptake of the vaccine.

Source of news: bbc.com