Jeane Freeman confirms Level 4 restrictions lifted across Scotland on Friday

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has reconfirmed that 11 health board areas across Scotland will be downgraded from the highest level of restrictions on Friday.

Glasgow is amongst the 11 areas, which covers much of central Scotland, which are currently at the highest rating of level four.

Ms Freeman issued a statement on Twitter confirming the toughest restrictions would be lifted at 6pm on Friday.

A person walks past a poster by Glasgow's Theatre Royal. Picture: John Devlin

She had earlier contributed towards confusion by telling BBC Scotland that "all options are on the table" when asked about the level four restrictions.

But Ms Freeman later said her comments were meant to be in respect of which levels the 11 areas would drop down to.

The Health Secretary posted on Twitter: “11 local authorities currently in Level 4 will come out of that level on Friday. That position has not changed.

“The Cabinet will decide on Tuesday what level below 4 they’ll go into. My comments were intended to mean in respect of that decision, all options are on the table.”

Ms Freeman had earlier been asked on BBC’s Politics Scotland programme about the chances of restrictions on nearly 2.3 million people in level four areas remaining, possibly until Christmas.

She said: "Right now, as is always the case in advance of these reviews, a great deal of work is going on - analysing the data, talking to colleagues on local authorities, taking senior clinical advice.

"All of this is designed to help us reach a judgement about what is the right thing to do.

"All options are on the table just now as you would expect them to be."

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Donald Cameron said: "This mixed messaging and confusion from the SNP health secretary helps nobody as they plan to come out of the toughest restrictions."The questions she was asked could not have been clearer.""While it is welcome that the government has eventually confirmed these restrictions will end, there was absolutely no need for this speculation to occur in the first place."Scottish Labour's health spokeswoman Monica Lennon said: "It's worrying that the First Minister and the health secretary are contradicting each other on something as serious as the Level 4 restrictions, leaving businesses and millions of Scots in limbo.”