NICOLA Sturgeon has hit back at "myths" about the reopening of hospitality businesses in Scotland, and insisted that the requirements for physical distancing "have not changed".

Speaking during a Covid update, the First Minister stressed that the one metre separation rule between customers seated at the same table applies only to people from different households, not to each patron.

From Monday April 26, cafes, bars and restaurants will be allowed to open to serve food - but not alcohol - indoors to groups of up to six people from a maximum of two households.

It comes amid an outcry from businesses over official diagrams illustrating table sizes of 3.5 metres by 2 metres to seat six people, which they said would be impossible to source.

Ms Sturgeon "The requirements for physical distancing in hospitality have not changed from the the guidance previously," said Ms Sturgeon, adding that anyone saying otherwise was spreading "myths".

The First Minister added that cafes and restaurants were already exempt from the two-metre distancing guidance which applies in other settings. 

She said: "We should not have myths about the rules circulating because it doesn't help anyone, least of all those in in our hospitality sector. 

"There is no change to physical distancing requirement in our revised guidance for the reopening next week, compared to the guidance that was in place the last time pubs and restaurants and cafes were allowed to open. 

"And anybody who says otherwise, is misleading people. 

"It remains really important that we do have physical distancing between people from different households, because what is also not in the interests of hospitality is that we have outbreaks again in pubs and restaurants that leads to individual premises having to close or outbreaks that seed community transmission and then we have to have local lockdowns again, which mean pubs, cafes and restaurants have to close their doors again."

"Anybody in hospitality who's saying we're changing the rules or that these rules are not important, they're not doing any favours to the wider hospitality trade."

READ MORE: Pub owners say social distancing rules mean they will need 11ft tables 

Ms Sturgeon said the only changes were that from Monday hospitality businesses will be required to display their maximum customer capacity limit for indoors, and would now be expected to collect the contact details of all customers in a group rather than just a single nominated 'lead customer' at each table.

She said: "That is an additional precaution which is really important to help with contact tracing in the event of any outbreak."

Gyms, galleries, museums, and swimming pools will also be allowed to reopen on Monday, along with outdoor hospitality where up to six people from six different households can meet up.

Alcohol can be served outdoors at pubs and restaurants, subject to local licensing laws. 

Travel restrictions will also be lifted allowing people anywhere in Scotland, including island communities, and within Britain. 

Anyone travelling to the islands is asked to carry out a lateral flow test twice - three days and one day before travel - to limit the risk of spreading Covid to remote communities where case numbers are much lower than on the mainland. 

Lateral flow tests will be available for free online, for home delivery, or to collect from local Covid testing centres. 

READ MORE: Publican creates new giant beer garden in Glasgow's southside 

Anyone who tests positive is asked to verify the result with a more accurate PCR test, and then to cancel their journey and self-isolate at home if that comes back positive. 

Ms Sturgeon said: "This is potentially an important way in which we can minimise the risk of transmission to island communities, while giving our island communities the benefit of opening up to visitors. 

"So if you are planning to travel to an island over the course of next week, it is possible to get [lateral flow] tests from today and I would encourage you to do that."

Ms Sturgeon also confirmed during today's briefing that Scotland remains on track to move into Level Two from May 17, and should be able to progress into Level One from June 7. 

Under Level Two, alcohol can be served indoors in hospitality venues, and groups of up to six people from three households would be allowed to share a table for up to two hours. 

Outdoors, eight people from up to eight households could sit together. 

Under Level One, this would increase to up to eight people from a maximum of three household indoors, and 12 from 12 households outdoors. 

Scotland's chief medical officer, Dr Gregor Smith, also confirmed that the number of confirmed Covid cases caused by the new Indian variant remains unchanged, at four. 

The 'double mutant' variant is spreading widely in India and has been linked to 103 cases in the UK so far. 

Fears over the risk of importing the strain, which is currently a 'variant under investigation' but may be more transmissible and potentially able to evade vaccines, has led to India being added to the 'red list'.

The restrictions, which will take effect from 4am on Friday, will ban any non-UK citizens or residents from entering the UK if they have visited India in the previous 10 days. 

UK citizens or residents returning after essential travel to India will be required to isolate in a quarantine hotel for 10 days on arrival back into the UK.