PUB and restaurant customers may have to provide their contact details as part of measures to combat coronavirus, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The First Minister confirmed the move is being considered in Scotland ahead of the hospitality industry reopening next month.

The Herald: Camley's Cartoon: Pub-goers may have to provide contact details.Camley's Cartoon: Pub-goers may have to provide contact details.

Similar measures are being examined down south amid efforts to strengthen contact tracing.

It is not yet clear how such a system would work. In New Zealand, customers scan codes with their phones when they enter hospitality outlets.

This helps trace those who may have been in contact with an infected person.

The First Minister was asked about the issue by The Herald at her daily coronavirus briefing.

She said: "Yes I think that is something that may very well be necessary.

"I don't want to pre-empt the advice that I've asked for around physical distancing but if we think about how test and protect works and the importance of contact tracing, then I think in particular environments and settings the ability to have the contact details of people in order to quickly track them is certainly something that has a lot of merit.

"Obviously we will publish guidance more generally ahead of different sectors reopening but I would say very firmly at this stage that that is something that is under consideration."

Ms Sturgeon's comments came after UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed the move is being looked at down south.

He said: "That is the sort of thing we are looking at for how do you make it safe to open things.

"And things like wearing a face mask which reduces the transmission clearly, about how the seating is arranged because face to face is much more dangerous than back to back and there's more transmission than side to side."

Many bars and restaurants had hoped to open outdoor areas in time for the weekend.

However Ms Sturgeon last week warned beer gardens could be “hotspots” for the spread of Covid-19.

She has commissioned further scientific advice on the issue, and will provide an update in early July.

She previously said: "I very much hope to see people able to have a pint - or some of us would prefer a glass of wine or a gin and tonic - in a beer garden before too long.

"But I want to make sure that's safe.

"If a couple more weeks before we have the ability to have a drink in a beer garden means we can keep this virus really suppressed at a low level, and maybe get our schools back much closer to normal in August, I think most people would think that is a good balance to try to strike."

She said she appreciated "this will be hard for the hospitality industry".

She added: "I want to give an assurance to businesses in that sector that we will continue to support preparations for reopening, for example, by encouraging local authorities to facilitate the use of open outdoor spaces which pubs and restaurants can use for additional space."

Scotland's hospitality industry has been told to prepare to fully reopen on July 15.

Boris Johnson is expected to announce tomorrow whether bars and restaurants in England can reopen on July 4.

He is also expected to set out a relaxation in the 2m distancing rule.