orkney and the western isles. 11 november – a "coding error" in scotland's test and protect contact-tracing service has led to staff overestimating the number of people contacted within 24 hours of testing positive for covid-19. amended data shows that staff failed to contact around half of those testing positive. first minister nicola sturgeon says the error should not have happened. nicola sturgeon advises people not to switch off the test and protect app after a letter sent to teachers in aberdeen asked them to turn it off while they are in school. 12 november – public health scotland says that contact tracers have been unable to contact 8% of people testing positive for covid-19 since the beginning of july, roughly 3,500 people. first minister nicola sturgeon announces that measures to control the virus have slowed its spread "very significantly". 13 november – greater glasgow and clyde and lanarkshire are warned they may be placed under tighter covid restrictions in the coming days because of high numbers of cases there. 15 november – a number of covid cases are detected at a school in the western isles. 16 november – first minister nicola sturgeon says that introducing level 4 restrictions in the west of scotland could help to pave the way for easing roles over the christmas season. the education institute of scotland has asked teachers if they would be prepared to strike over covid school safety concerns. 17 november – level 4 restrictions are announced for 11 council areas in the west of scotland, effective from 6 pm on 20 november until 11 december, and covering a population of 2.3 million people. the restrictions apply to east dunbartonshire, east renfrewshire, glasgow, renfrewshire, west dunbartonshire, north and south lanarkshire, east and south ayrshire, stirling and west lothian, and will see bars and restaurants, gyms and non-essential shops closed for the duration of the measures. from 24 november, east lothian and midlothian will move from level 3 to level 2 restrictions. 18 november – figures released by national records of scotland indicate the number of deaths in scotland where covid was mentioned on the death certificate to have been 5,135 up to 15 november. figures released by public health scotland show that the number of people diagnosed with cancer fell by 40% at the start of the pandemic. the scottish tourism alliance warns that moving the areas of western scotland to level 4 restrictions will force many hotels to close until 2021. 19 november – health secretary jeane freeman announces plans for the first covid vaccines in scotland to be administered in december. in a letter to parents, maureen mckenna, the director of education at glasgow city council, suggests covid in the city is being spread by families hosting sleepovers for children and other social events. 20 november – at 6 pm, level 4 restrictions begin in eleven council areas of western scotland. 21 november – concern is raised over hospital acquired covid cases after figures released by public health scotland indicate 180 definite or probable "hospital onset" infections in the week ending 25 october, up from 98 the previous week. a care home in larbert reports 20 covid deaths in the space of a month, a figure thought to be the highest single number of deaths linked to a care home during the current outbreak. a performance by folk rock band torridon at the ironworks in inverness becomes the first indoor concert to take place since march, with 100 people in attendance. 22 november – health secretary jeane freeman confirms that covid vaccination will not be mandatory in scotland, but expresses hope that most people will choose to be vaccinated. opposition parties call for a complete ban on discharging hospital patients to care homes unless they have received two negative covid tests after reports the practice continues. 23 november – first minister nicola sturgeon says that progress is being made over the approach for relaxing covid regulations over christmas, but she does not expect the same for hogmanay. 25 november – first minister nicola sturgeon speak about how she "agonised" over whether to allow people to meet up over christmas and says it would be "safer" for them to not do so. 26 november – the scottish government stipulates that household "bubbles" over christmas should contain no more than eight people over the age of eleven from three households. 27 november – it is reported that talks are being held between the scottish government and education officials about extending the christmas school holiday, and standardising the holiday from friday 18 december to monday 11 january. police scotland says it has issued 33 fixed penalty fines for breach of covid rules in the first five days of scotland's tough new travel restrictions. 29 november – first minister nicola sturgeon defends her handling of the covid crisis after figures indicate scotland to have a higher death rate in recent weeks. there were 50.5 deaths per million in scotland in the week ending 15 november, compared to 40.6 in england. 30 november – mass testing is announced for university students, and people in five areas of scotland, including glasgow, ayrshire, clackmannanshire and renfrewshire. scotland's national clinical director, professor jason leitch, suggests that door-to-door carol singing should "probably not" take place over christmas. first minister nicola sturgeon announces that every nhs and social care worker in scotland will receive a £500 "thank you" payment for the role they played in the covid-19 pandemic. december 2020 2 december – with the uk's approval of the pfizer/biontech covid vaccine, first minister nicola sturgeon announces that people in scotland should start to receive the vaccine from tuesday 8 december. 3 december – the first batch of the covid vaccine to arrive in scotland will be used for healthcare workers, with supplies reaching care homes on 14 december. the scottish government confirms there will be no extension to the christmas school holidays. talks about a three-week holiday from 18 december to 11 january had been under way, but concerns were raised about the impact on teaching. 5 december – health secretary jeane freeman confirms the first supplies of the pfizer/biontech vaccine have arrived in scotland, with vaccinations set to begin on tuesday 8 december. 6 december – the number of people in scotland testing positive for covid-19 since the start of the pandemic passes 100,000, with 100,106 confirmed cases recorded. there is uncertainty after health secretary jeane freeman appears to make contradicting statements over whether level four restrictions will be eased on 11 december. 8 december – all eleven areas living under level four restrictions will be downgraded to level three from friday 11 december, the scottish government announces. education secretary john swinney confirms that higher and advanced higher exams will be cancelled in 2021, with pupils' grades based on teacher assessment. swinney also confirms that students' return to university after christmas will be staggered over a period of six weeks. 9 december – finance secretary kate forbes announces a further £185m of funding for taxi drivers, tourism firms and the wedding sector. council leaders in edinburgh and midlothian have expressed their anger that their areas will remain in level 3 restrictions, despite expectations they would be moved to level 2. 10 december – first minister nicola sturgeon says that lifting restrictions in edinburgh would pose a "significant risk" of letting the virus run out of control. the scottish government announces that low-level background music will be permitted again in hospitality venues from saturday 12 december; the ban on music and televisions in pubs and restaurants came into force on 14 august to prevent people having to speak loudly and spreading covid via airborne saliva. gordon dewar, the chief executive of edinburgh airport, accuses first minister nicola sturgeon of "campaigning" against the aviation industry after she warned she would not book a summer holiday "right now". 11 december – non-essential shops are allowed to reopen in 11 council areas, including glasgow, as they are moved from level 4 to level 3 restrictions. but pubs and restaurants must remain closed until the following day. a legal challenge to the decision to keep edinburgh in level 3 restrictions is rejected by the court of session. st matthew's academy in saltcoats moves to remote learning for the rest of the school term following a covid outbreak. 12 december – pubs and restaurants in areas moved to level 3 restrictions the previous day are permitted to reopen, but must not serve alcohol and have to close at 6 pm. four arrests are made following an anti-lockdown protest in edinburgh. 14 december – vaccinations using the pfizer/biontech vaccine begin in scottish care homes. first minister nicola sturgeon urges people in scotland to "cut down on unnecessary contacts" now if they plan to meet up with relatives at christmas. annie innes, 90, from south lanarkshire, becomes the first care home resident in scotland to receive the pfizer/biontech covid vaccine as care home vaccinations begin. difficulties exist in administering the vaccine to residents of some scottish islands because of the logistics of getting it to them. the vaccine, which has to be stored at -75c, is distributed from 23 freezers located around scotland, limiting the timeframe and distance of its distribution. residents of lewis and mainland orkney have been vaccinated, but it may not be possible to reach other outlying islanders. 15 december – aberdeen, aberdeenshire and east lothian will move from level two to level three restrictions from friday 18 december in a bid to control rising covid cases in those areas. nine cases of a new variant strain of covid-19 are detected in scotland. 16 december – following the uk-wide decision to go ahead with the relaxation of covid rules over christmas, separate households in scotland are being urged to only meet up on one of the five days. the number of covid-related deaths in scotland has passed 6,000, with 6,092 deaths having been registered by 13 december. first minister nicola sturgeon says that a technical glitch with an upgrade of the protect scotland contact-tracing app may have led to hundreds of people incorrectly being told to self-isolate. 17 december – deputy first minister john swinney says that further restrictions, including a potential lockdown, cannot be ruled out after christmas. 18 december – health secretary jeane freeman says that all options remain on the table as regards covid restrictions following christmas. 19 december – following the emergence of a new, faster-spreading variant of covid-19, first minister nicola sturgeon announces that festive relaxation of restrictions will be limited to christmas day, with mainland scotland placed under level four rules from boxing day. travel to the rest of the uk is also prohibited. 20 december – police patrols along the england–scotland border are to be doubled following the travel ban between the two countries, but there are no plans to put checkpoints or roadblocks in place. businesses in scotland are calling for an "extraordinary" financial package to support them as scotland approaches level four restrictions. 21 december – businesses in level one areas have expressed their frustration at plans to move all of mainland scotland to level four restrictions from boxing day. 22 december – first minister nicola sturgeon has said that level four restrictions may need to be strengthened in order to contain the new variant of covid-19. sturgeon also apologises after she broke covid regulations when attending a funeral by talking to people at a wake without wearing a face covering. 23 december – a child under the age of one becomes scotland's youngest covid-19 related fatality. first minister nicola sturgeon apologises to the scottish parliament for breaching covid regulations by removing her face covering at a wake, stating that she "was kicking very hard" over the incident. 24 december – office for national statistics figures for scotland indicate a fall in covid cases, with 37,100 (one in 140) people having the virus in the week to 18 december, a drop from 52,500 (one in 100) in the week up to 11 december. but the new variant of covid is believed to be responsible for 38% of new cases in the week to 18 december. dumfries and galloway health and social care partnership says the new variant of covid has been identified as part of an outbreak in wigtownshire in the