Numbers of fresh coronavirus cases have dropped to the lowest level since last September allowing the ban on  travelling around Scotland to be lifted from Friday, the First Minister has said. 

Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that 221 cases have been identified across Scotland in the past 24 hours, a steep fall since the start of the year. 

According to Scottish Government statistics, there have been three deaths in the same period. 

A total of 20 people are being treated in intensive care, a drop of one since Monday, while 133 remain in hospital overall. 

Of the new tests that reported results – 1.6% of these were positive, below the 5% the World Health Organisation considers the marker for a pandemic being brought under control.

READ MORE: Kent variant behind second lockdown is 'no deadlier' than other strains

With the three new deaths the total number of fatalities under the daily measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – remains at 7,633.

More than 2,682,700 people have received the first dose of the Covid vaccination and 605,126 have received their second dose

READ MORE: Give deprived young people free gym memberships, say medics

Ms Sturgeon said that the Scottish Government had met its target of vaccinating 60 per cent of the adult population by the middle of March.