Scots told to limit mixing to just 3 households over Christmas as Sturgeon puts pressure on PM to toughen restrictions

SCOTS have been told to restrict socialising to just THREE households over the Christmas period to fight Omicron.

Nicola Sturgeon is slapping the country with the toughest measures in months – piling pressure on Boris Johnson to also tighten mixing curbs in England.

The First Minister said the advice wouldn’t apply to main celebrations with friends and family on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing day.

In a gloomy address to MSPs she said she was “not asking anyone to cancel Christmas”, but advised people to limit their socialising either side of the holiday.

Ms Sturgeon said: “My key request today is this: before and immediately after Christmas, please minimise your social mixing with other households as much as you can.

“However, if you do plan on socialising, either at home or in indoor public places, we are asking that you limit the number of households represented in your group to a maximum of three. And make sure you test before you go.”

Omicron is spreading like wildfire in the UK including large parts of Scotland.

Laying bare the alarming Covid situation, Ms Sturgeon said she expects it to become the dominant strain in days.

She said: “This matters because Omicron is significantly more transmissible than Delta; the R number associated with Delta is around 1 but the R number for Omicron appears to be well over 2 and possibly above 4.

“Cases in Scotland in total have increased by a quarter in the last week, they have risen in all age groups, except the over 85s. Omicron is already contributing to that increase.

“But as it becomes the dominant strain, its much higher R number will also dominate, and that will drive a much steeper increase in cases.”

People in Wales were also braced for more restrictions in the coming weeks to tackle the mutation.

Health Minister Eluned Morgan said: “The last thing we want to do is cancel Christmas. I think it is important we make that absolutely clear,” she told journalists at the briefing.

“But we are not currently taking anything off the table either, so the best thing for people to do, in order to see if we can remain in a situation where we are all able to see each other over Christmas is to take precautions now, so that we don’t see the kind of increasing rates that we are all expecting.

“A lot of this is in our hands, as individuals and as a community. The more you mix now, the more likely you are to contract Covid, and this particular form of Covid.”

The squeeze in the devolved nations ratchets up pressure on the PM to impose harsher measures in England.

Downing St has so far said there’s “no plans” to move beyond mandatory masks, working from home guidance and vaccine passports under Plan B.

But the Sun reveals today that pubs and restaurants could shut in the coming weeks if Omicron spirals.