FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced yesterday that details of how Scotland will ease lockdown restrictions will be published later this week.

She confirmed that a "route map" for paths out of lockdown will be published on Thursday.

She said that if progress is being made in reducing the spread of the virus, changes could be made after the next review date of May 28.

But that would be reliant on continued improvements, taking into account the reproduction rate (r figure) of the virus, and the findings of the weekly National Records of Scotland (NRS) report.

Until then, the Scottish Government advice remains the same: stay at home.

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What lockdown measures could we expect to be eased?

Sports

It's no secret that many Scots have been longing to return to some outdoor leisure activities.

It's thought that officials are considering whether sports like golf, tennis and fishing could return after the next review.

That comes after the limit of exercise Scots were allowed to do each day was extended from once per day at the start of lockdown, to unlimited.

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Garden centres

This is another area in which Scotland has taken a more relaxed approach from England and Wales.

Currently, south of the border, garden centres have reopened, with Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton dubbing the decision not to open them as "completely illogical". 

Recycling centres

The issue of recycling centres has been a hot topic for many local areas across the country.

Lockdown measures have seen a rise in fly-tipping across the country.

Yesterday, COSLA revealed household waste and recycling centres could be open by June 1 following a meeting of all council leaders.

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Meeting other households

Currently in Scotland, we are only allowed to be with people from our own household.

Last week, Boris Johnson announced that in England, two people from two households will be able to meet in a public place, providing they maintain a two-metre distance.

And groups of up to six people from two different households are now permitted to meet-up outside in Northern Ireland, if they stick to social distancing.

It is hoped that measures, potentially in line with that of England, could come into place here.

'Steps back to normality'

The First Minister said at the briefing: “Within two weeks, my hope is that we will be taking some concrete steps on the journey back to normality.

“As I’ve said before, it won’t be normality as we knew it because the virus will not have gone away, but it will be a journey to a better balance – I hope – than the one we have today.

“As we take each step, we must make sure that the ground beneath us is as solid as possible.

“That’s why sticking with the lockdown restrictions a bit longer to suppress the virus more is so important, because that will mean we can start to take these steps with the confidence that we have alternative means of effectively keeping it under control.”