Christmas parties might have to wait until summer, Sturgeon warns

‘By far the best way of marking Christmas with your colleagues this year is virtually,’ first minister says

First minister announced no coronavirus deaths have been recorded in Scotland in the past 24 hours but there have been 734 new cases (Russell Cheyne/PA)

Face-to-face office Christmas parties in Scotland should be postponed until the summer, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The first minister said gatherings that cannot be held virtually present a “real risk” of transmitting coronavirus and warned against them.

"If you can't work from home and you're sharing a workplace with colleagues just now I understand why it might be tempting to have some sort of celebration or social gathering at work because this obviously has been a really difficult time for everyone", Ms Sturgeon said at the Scottish government’s Covid-19 briefing on Monday.

"But office parties, especially if they involve alcohol, present a real risk of transmission.

"People are less likely to stick to physical distancing requirements than when they are working and more likely to pass around food or drinks without perhaps washing their hands as carefully as they should.

"So I'm asking everybody please don't take these risks. By far the best way of marking Christmas with your colleagues this year is virtually."

Ms Sturgeon added: "It is not as much fun, I appreciate that, but it is much, much safer.

"And if you can't do that then perhaps think about postponing your Christmas celebration into next year, perhaps the spring or the summer of next year when hopefully we will be starting to see some greater normality return to our lives."

Ms Sturgeon also announced no coronavirus deaths had been reported in Scotland in the past 24 hours, but there have been 734 new cases.

Ms Sturgeon warned death figures tended to be "artificially low" on Mondays as many registry offices are closed at the weekend.

She welcomed the first care home residents in Scotland being vaccinated on Monday morning as the mass inoculation programme expands but said virus remains a "real and present danger".

The first minister said people planning to meet with others indoors during the temporary Christmas relaxation should now start cutting unnecessary contacts.

She stressed not meeting indoors is the safest option.

Ms Sturgeon also announced the Protect Scotland app can now be downloaded by any secondary school pupil, when it was previously limited to those aged at least 16.

She said: "By downloading the app, young people will be helping to control and mitigate any outbreaks amongst young people and I think that will be particularly important over holiday periods."

Additional reporting by Press Association