The nine cases of the Omicron COVID variant which have been identified in Scotland are all linked to a single private event which was held on 20 November, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

Speaking in Holyrood, Scotland’s first minister said contact tracing has been carried out and more cases are expected to emerge in the next few days – but that community transmission may still be “limited” due to the restricted nature of the event.

None of the nine individuals who contracted the virus have so far required hospital care, Ms Sturgeon added.

She also told MSPs that any possible links between the new cases of the Omicron variant and the COP26 climate summit which was held in Glasgow are being investigated, but the timing means it is “improbable”.

The climate conference took place from 31 October to 13 November.

Addressing the Scottish Parliament, the first minister said: “None of these individuals – as far as we know – has recent travel history to or known links with others who have travelled to the countries in southern Africa where the variant was originally detected.

“However, while the contact tracing exercise is still ongoing, health protection teams have established that all nine cases are linked. They all trace back to a single private event on 20 November.

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“Indeed, we fully expect that there will be more cases identified over the coming days that are also linked to this event.”

There are now 14 confirmed cases of the new Omicron variant in the UK, nine of which have been identified in Scotland.

Ms Sturgeon added: “Given the nature and scale of COP26, the surveillance work that Public Health Scotland is doing is also looking at any potential links to it.

“At this stage, however, there is no evidence whatsoever of any such link, and, while it is not impossible that one will emerge, I think the timelines involved make it improbable.”

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