A Christmas lockdown is unlikely this year according to Professor Jason Leitch.

The national clinical director, said while cases are rising and the option of going back was always there, he was hopeful that by following the advice there would not be tougher restrictions imposed like last year.

Prof Leitch said it looks like the R number is 1 meaning 2000 cases leads to 2000 cases.

He said he would rather it was 100 cases but the virus is “stubborn” and said we need it down more slowly with vaccines, testing and hygiene.

Speaking on BBC Radio Good Morning Scotland about the likelihood of cases rising further over winter, he said: “There’s no sensible public health advisor in the world who wouldn’t say to politicians we have to have a reverse gear. We have to have to be able to go backwards as well as forwards, of course.”

The Professor said there were not that many restrictions left now compared to where we were previously.

He said: “Life is pretty much back to normal in a lot of settings and that’s why we need people not to drop our guard.”

Asked about the potential for tougher measures over Christmas he said: “I honestly don’t know. I don’t think we’ll be in lockdown, so I don’t think we’ll go back so far. That it will feel like it did way back in the beginning in wave one and even in wave two.

“I’m hopeful that together the National Health Service and the people of Scotland can together get us to what will be a Christmas where we can see family, where we can go about our business, where we can go for dinner, go for nights out but beside that, check in get your vaccine to make all that safer.”