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		</div><p>Omicron is now the dominant strain of coronavirus in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon said as she warned that a “tsunami” of the variant is hitting the country.</p>
<p>Scotland&#8217;s first minister told a briefing that 51.4 per cent of Covid-19 cases in Scotland are likely Omicron.</p>
<p>She said the R number, which measures the rate of infection, could be above four and that cases of the virus have increased by more than 40 per cent in the past week.</p>
<p>She urged people to stay at home in the run-up to Christmas, saying the emergence of Omicron has been the “cruellest of blows”.</p>
<p>“The tsunami I warned about a week ago is now starting to hit us,” she said. “However, and this is a key point, a really key point actually, we shouldn’t be fatalistic about this. We are not powerless in the face of it.”</p>
<p>Ms Sturgeon said it “seems that boosters are still very effective in reducing the risk of falling seriously ill from Omicron”.</p>
<p>She said it is expected the increase in cases will “continue and accelerate”, and stressed the need to slow down the spread of the virus, adding: “As of now the scale and the immediacy of the challenge it presents is of profound concern.”</p>
<p>On Friday, new guidance in Scotland came into force to prevent further spread of coronavirus.</p>
<p>Businesses across the country are legally required to take “reasonable measures” to minimise transmission of the virus.</p>
<p>Advice includes a return to one-way systems in premises, app-based ordering and the use of screens at service points.</p>
<p>The hospitality sector has been encouraged to return to table service where practical and to consider measures to reduce crowding.</p>
<p>Earlier, Scotland’s economy minister, Kate Forbes, said the Scottish government is calling on the UK finance ministry to “step up and provide urgent funding” to businesses.</p>
<p>“I wrote to the chancellor last night and the first minister has requested talks with the prime minister – this situation is serious and we need the UK government to engage with us on further support,” she said.</p>
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