The Scottish First Minister said there had been “real progress” in stopping the spread of coronavirus shown by the statistics.
However, she said the figures also showed how “fragile” the situation in Scotland.
Nicola Sturgeon said: “The virus has been suppressed, but it has not gone away and it is still extremely dangerous.”
The First Minister added that there is still a chance of a resurgence of Covid-19 during the first phase of the route map out of lockdown put in place by the Scottish Government.
She said some guidance, such as asking that people not travel more than five miles and that a limit of eight people between two households meetings is adhered to, were not enshrined in law.
Nicola Sturgeon said: “It’s worth being clear, in fact I have a duty to be clear with you, that if there is continued evidence of even a minority not abiding by these guidelines and travelling unnecessarily, if people meet up in larger groups or if they’re making journeys which risk spreading this virus, we will have to put these restrictions on group size and travel distance into law.
“We won’t hesitate to do that if we think it’s necessary for the collective safety and wellbeing of the population.”
She added: “The reason I’m stressing this, the real danger that we still face, is not because I want to be imposing these restrictions, but it is because the progress we’ve made so far in tackling Covid-19 is simply not guaranteed and it is not irreversible.”
The First Minister said cases could still increase, leading to a loss of life and lockdown measures being reimposed.
