Our progress in suppressing the virus means I’ve been able to the update the route map out of lockdown.

A careful and step-by-step approach in tackling COVID-19 has brought us to where we are now. You’ll find full details of the updated route map here. Key dates include: 6 July – Outdoor hospitality areas such as beer gardens will be able to open. 9 July – Scotland will progress to phase three of lockdown if COVID-19 cases continue to reduce. 10 July – Households will be able to meet people from more households outdoors with physical distancing. 13 July – Organised outdoor sports for children will resume and nonessential shops within indoor shopping centres will reopen. 15 July – Pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, and cinemas will be able to open, along with the tourism sector and all holiday accommodation. Meantime, our strategy remains to get as close as possible to elimination of the virus now and build confidence in our ability to control it in future through test and protect. If we can do that, then the move to the final phase four will become possible, perhaps as we go into August. Please stick with all the health advice. Remember, the virus has not gone away. Be sensible and apply careful judgment at all times. In everything we do, we should be thinking not just of our own health, but that of everyone around us too. Stay safe, protect others and save lives.