Nicola Sturgeon has asked Boris Johnson to convene a Cobra this weekend, for the first time after several months, as she warned of "hard but necessary decisions" to be made in the coming days.

Downing Street has admitted a short-term "circuit break" lockdown, thought to be earmarked for October half term, is under consideration, in a bid to get cases back under control.

"This weekend will be critical in the assessment" of what to do next, Ms Sturgeon said during her regular press conference. "Sage met yesterday, I have chaired meeting of senior officials and advisers and discussions across the four nations will, I hope, take place in the coming days.

"Today I want to give the nation advance notice that the coming days are likely to see some hard but necessary decisions. If we want to avoid another full scale lockdown, doing nothing almost certainly isn't an option," Ms Sturgeon said.

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