NICOLA Sturgeon has been forced to remind a Tory minister that it’s impossible to bring the dead “back to life”.

The blunt warning from the SNP leader came after Scotland Office minister Douglas Ross defended the UK Government’s decision to allow building sites to remain open during the coronavirus outbreak.

Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, the MP for Moray was pushed on why the UK government was taking a softer line on building sites than the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and the Mayor of London, who all want non-essential work to stop.

READ MORE: Tory MP takes aim at Scottish construction policy

Ross replied: “I think where the UK Government have given their advice is if it is possible to socially distance and it is not possible to do your work from home, so ultimately we want as many people as possible to work from home, they should do that.

"But clearly in construction you cannot work from home. But Public Health England have given guidance for how to socially distance on a construction site to allow important work to continue.”

Ross said the question for Sturgeon is “why is it not allowed north of the Border when it can be done safely south of the Border”.

Speaking at the Scottish Government’s daily briefing, the First Minister hit back at Ross: "I don't underestimate the damage to the economy that's been done right now.

"I don't underestimate the impact of restricting people's liberties in the way that we are doing right now, but all of these things, however difficult, we can repair and get back to normal.

“What we can't do is bring people back to life. And that's why the absolute focus here must be on reducing, as far as we possibly can, the numbers of people who die from this virus."

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