plans which they say are unclear. scottish national party mp margaret ferrier appears in court charged with "culpable and reckless" conduct over her decision to travel on public transport after testing positive for covid-19 in september 2020. 4 february – the percentage of people testing positive for covid in scotland falls to 4.9%, its lowest for a month. 5 february – the latest daily vaccination figures for scotland show that 48,165 were delivered the previous day, double the figure for the same day the previous week. 6 february – the latest figures show 786,427 people had received the first dose of covid vaccine up to 5 february, with 90% of those aged 80 or over having done so. 7 february – health secretary jeane freeman says that her ambition is to have every adult in scotland vaccinated "in the summer". 8 february – data released by police scotland suggests an increasing number of properties are being booked through online websites for illegal parties and gatherings. 9 february – all travellers arriving into scotland by air will be required to quarantine for ten days at a government authorised hotel from 15 february, the scottish government announces. 10 february – the number of people receiving their first covid vaccination in scotland passes the one million mark. 11 february – first minister nicola sturgeon suggests the rate of covid vaccinations could slow down later in the month because of supply issues. sturgeon also claims that uk borders will be "too leaky" despite the introduction of hotel quarantine rules for international travellers. 13 february – a scottish government advisory group has recommended secondary school pupils should follow two metre social distancing rules while travelling on school buses when they return to school later in february as an "additional protective measure". 14 february – transport secretary michael matheson urges the uk government to offer international travellers bound for scotland quarantine facilities in england should they arrive there, describing it as "absolutely critical". his comments come on the eve of the launch of the uk's hotel quarantine scheme, and different rules for scotland and the rest of the uk. while the rest of the uk has stipulated only those arriving from countries on the "red list" must quarantine at government designated hotels, scotland wants the rules to apply to all international travellers arriving there. 15 february – a father and daughter who became the first travellers to go into scotland's quarantine programme after arriving from the united states have been told they can leave quarantine because of a loophole triggered after they stopped at dublin during their journey, and thus meant they had arrived in scotland from a country in the common travel area that negates the need for them to quarantine. in response, uk health secretary matt hancock says he is happy to discuss measures that would close the loophole. 16 february – first minister nicola sturgeon announces that children in years p1 to p3, pre-school and some secondary pupils who need to complete coursework, will return to school for face-to-face learning from monday 22 february. sturgeon urges people not to book easter holidays because it is "highly unlikely" self-catering accommodation and hotels will be reopened by then. finance secretary kate forbes announces an extension of the business rates relief scheme to cover the 2021–22 financial year. 17 february – first minister nicola sturgeon says there is "hard evidence" vaccination is reducing the number of deaths from covid, with the weekly death rate having fallen for three consecutive weeks, and fallen in care homes by 62% during that time. 18 february – professor jason leitch, scotland's national clinical director, suggests scotland could "strive" for complete elimination of covid-19, but this would require the country to isolate, preventing international travel "for some time". 19 february – figures released by the scottish prison service show the number of covid-19 cases in scottish prisons has doubled in a week from 189 to 364. lateral flow asymptomatic covid testing is to be rolled out in glasgow, the scottish government announces. dental schools in scotland have announced they will not accept new students for the 2021–22 academic year because of existing students who will have to repeat a year because of missed clinical training due to the covid-19 pandemic. 20 february – the scottish government confirms that care home visits will resume in march, with residents allowed two designated visitors to visit them once a week. 21 february – ahead of the return of scotland's first pupils to school, education secretary john swinney attempts to reassure the public it is safe for children to begin returning to school. the scottish government reiterates comments made by prime minister boris johnson that all adults will receive their first covid injection by the end of july, if supplies are available. 22 february – scotland's schools begin a phased reopening, with the youngest pupils returning to the classroom. 23 february – first minister of scotland nicola sturgeon unveils the scottish government's strategy for reopening the economy in scotland. the plan includes the following: all primary pupils, and senior pupils from years s5 and s6 to return to the classroom on 15 march, but other secondary pupils may not return to school until after easter. also on 15 march, four people from two separate households to be allowed to meet up outdoors. scotland's stay at home restrictions could be lifted on 5 april. the reopening of non-essential retail, restaurants, pubs, gyms and hairdressers is expected to start from 26 april. a man whose ten-year-old son was required to quarantine at a hotel after arriving from finland has urged the scottish government to reconsider its isolation policy for travellers. figures released by public health scotland indicate the number of people waiting for an endoscopy in scotland has increased by 44.5% during the pandemic, with 31,637 people waiting for the procedure. 25 february – with hampden park scheduled to host four match fixtures in this summer's euro 2020 cup, sports minister mairi gougeon warns there is no guarantee that the stadium will be able to allow spectators in to watch the matches. 26 february – highlands council announces £150m spending on improvements to tourism post-covid and in order to address problems encountered in summer 2020 when the area experienced an "unprecedented" level of tourism. the money will be spent on things such as parking for motorhomes and public toilets. march 2021 1 march – visiting restrictions on care homes are relaxed, allowing residents to choose two visitors who can visit them once a week. scotland plans to return to a tier system once lockdown has ended, but with tougher measures than previously. 2 march – first minister nicola sturgeon confirms that all secondary school pupils will return to the classroom part-time from 15 march, with priority given to those in years due to take public examinations. with covid cases at their lowest in five months, sturgeon suggests lockdown measures could be lifted faster than scheduled. 3 march – a scottish government advisory group recommends that all secondary pupils should wear face coverings when they return to the classroom later in the month. it is reported that a third of passengers who arrived on a flight to aberdeen from which three people tested positive for brazilian variant covid are yet to be traced. 5 march – first minister nicola sturgeon says she hopes to be able to announce "relatively minor but important" changes to outdoor socialising on tuesday 9 march. 6 march – the scottish government says that no further cases of brazilian variant covid have been detected in scotland. the scottish government expresses its disappointment that a large crowd of rangers fans gathered outside ibrox stadium ahead of their game with st. mirren. 7 march – rangers fans once again gather at ibrox stadium, to celebrate the club winning the scottish premiership, their first top-flight title in a decade. 8 march – police scotland criticise rangers for failing to tell celebrating fans to disperse. 9 march – first minister nicola sturgeon announces a slight easing of rules, allowing four people from two separate households to meet up outdoors or four youngsters aged 12–17 from four separate households to meet up from friday 12 march. outdoor non-contact sports will be allowed from the same day. communal worship of no more than 50 people will be allowed from 26 march. sturgeon says she "cannot simply turn a blind eye" to the mass gathering of rangers fans, and wants assurances it will not happen again. following england's announcement that five of its nhs nightingale hospitals will close, the scottish government confirms that nhs louisa jordan, the emergency covid hospital in glasgow, is to stay open for the time being. 10 march – two shutdowns at the ferguson shipyard during the pandemic have added an extra £4.3m to the cost of two caledonian macbrayne ferries, which have been delayed due to the shutdowns. 11 march – the bbc announces plans to adapt its coverage of scottish government daily briefings during the weeks preceding the scottish parliament election after the conservatives accused first minister nicola sturgeon of using the briefings to "launch political attacks". 12 march – leading public health expert professor linda bauld of the university of edinburgh has said she believes many aspects of life could return to normal by mid-june. organisers of a vigil for london woman sarah everard planned for the following day in edinburgh cancel it in favour of an online event following a warning from health secretary jeane freeman that public gatherings risk further spread of the covid virus. 13 march – the 25th anniversary of the dunblane massacre is marked privately in the town of dunblane because of covid restrictions, with an online church service remembering those killed in the massacre. following the cancellation of a glasgow vigil for deceased london woman sarah everard due to covid restrictions, ribbons are instead tied to trees and fences in the city. 14 march – hospitality sector leaders in scotland have urged the scottish government to rethink its covid exit strategy to stop businesses from folding, submitting a document suggesting that scotland mirrors england for reopening businesses. after first minister nicola sturgeon announces that all secondary school pupils will have some time in school from monday 15 march, the educational institute of scotland teaching union accuses foe scottish government of making a "political decision" rather than one to benefit pupils. 15 march – chief medical officer gregor smith says he is "wholly confident" in the oxford–astrazeneca vaccine after its use was paused by several european countries amid concerns over a possible link to blood clots. an evangelical church in motherwell is reported to police for illegally holding services in breach of covid restrictions. 16 march – first minister nicola sturgeon sets out the easing of restrictions in scotland, with the stay at home order lifted on 2 april in favour of a stay local order within local authority areas, the reopening of hairdressers and garden centres on 5 april, the lifting of the stay local order on 26 april in favour of a stay within scotland order and the reopening of gyms and tourist accommodation. 17 march – two million people in scotland have received their first covid vaccine, or 44% of the population. police break up a large gathering of people in glasgow's kelvingrove park. 18 march – scotland will get 500,000 fewer vaccine doses over the coming month due to uk vaccine supplies. the nhs louisa jordan temporary hospital is to close at the end of march, it is confirmed. scotland's children's commissioner expresses concern about the potential impact of hotel quarantine on children. 19 march – the british dental association warns of a "looming oral health crisis" in months and years to come as the suspension of dental treatment during the pandemic has meant the early signs of illnesses such as oral cancers have been missed in some patients. 20 march – police scotland say they are investigating the theft of a vial of covid vaccination from a vaccination centre in edinburgh. an outbreak of covid at the university of dundee that has seen 30 students test positive is believed to be linked to a party at the university. professor jason leitch, scotland's national clinical director, says that holidays in europe are looking