Nicola Sturgeon will give her weekly Covid announcement to Parliament this afternoon as Scotland continues to record cases of the Omicron variant. 

The variant, originally identified in South Africa, has caused concern around the world and prompted countries to introduce new measures to try and limit the spread. 

Scientists are racing to examine the potential impact of the Omicron variant which is feared to be more transmissible than Delta. 

In line with JCVI advice, the Scottish government confirmed last week it would offer all adults a booster jab to increase protection against the virus. 

Tighter restrictions on travel have also been introduced in the UK, with passengers travelling to England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland from abroad required to take a pre-departure test from today, regardless of vaccine status. 

The first minister's statement comes the day after changes were made to the vaccine passport scheme in Scotland, which mean that people can now gain entry to events which require vaccine certification using a negative lateral flow result. 

As the country continues to grapple with the new Covid variant, here's everything you need to know about Nicola Sturgeon's update today...

When is Nicola Sturgeon Covid announcement today?

Nicola Sturgeon will give her update to Parliament on the Covid situation in Scotland around 2:15pm this afternoon. 

It will depend on the topics before running to schedule, so could be just after 2:15pm. 

Where can I watch Nicola Sturgeon's Covid briefing? 

You can watch the first minister's Covid update via the Scottish government's social media platforms. 

It will also be broadcast on BBC Scotland from 2:15pm, and the statement is usually live tweeted from the SNP Twitter handle. 

What will Nicola Sturgeon say today?

As always, we will hear an update of the case rates in Scotland, with the figures published daily at 2pm. 

The first minister is also likely to give an overview of what the government knows about Omicron and its presence in Scotland. 

If any further measures are to be introduced to curb the spread of the variant, we are likely to hear about them at the briefing this afternoon.