SCOTLAND is “once again at a tipping point” with coronavirus cases increasing rapidly, Nicola Sturgeon warned last night.

In a rare televised address, the First Minister pleaded with Scots to make yet more “sacrifices”, saying that by “staying out of other people’s houses for now, we give ourselves the best chance of bringing Covid back under control”.

She paid tribute to the “collective efforts across Scotland” which had helped “beat Covid back”.

But, the First Minister added, in the last three weeks the number of positive cases had “almost trebled”.

“And as the virus spreads, we see more people being admitted to hospital again and sadly dying.

“So we are once again at a tipping point. We must act to get Covid back under control and protect the things that matter most to us.

“In a global pandemic of a virus with as yet no vaccine, we simply can’t have 100% normality. No country can.”

So, she added, Scotland needed to prioritise.

“Our priorities are saving lives and protecting health, keeping schools open, restarting NHS services, ensuring care homes are safe, and protecting jobs and livelihoods.

“It is to safeguard these priorities that I must ask all of you again to make sacrifices. Sacrifices for our national wellbeing. They are not easy but please believe me when I say they are essential.”

IN FULL: Nicola Sturgeon's televised address to nation on new covid rules

The First Minister urged Scots to follow the new rules, promising that it could make a difference.

She acknowledged that it would “feel like a step backwards” but she promised the country was “in a much stronger position than in the spring”.

“I know that all of this has been incredibly tough – and six months on it only gets tougher,” she said.

“But never forget that humanity has come through even bigger challenges than this one.

“And though it doesn’t feel like it now, this virus will pass.

“It won’t last forever and one day, hopefully soon, we will be looking back on it, not living through it.

“So though we are all struggling with this – and believe me, we are all struggling – let’s pull together.

“Let’s keep going, try to keep smiling, keep hoping and keep looking out for each other.

“Be strong, be kind and let’s continue to act out of love and solidarity.

“I will never find the words to thank all of you enough for the enormous sacrifices you have made so far. And I am sorry to be asking for more.

“But a belief I hold on to – and one I am asking you to keep faith with in those moments when it all feels too hard – is this: if we stick with it – and, above all, if we stick together – we will get through it.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson also addressed the country last night.

He moved to take on rising scepticism over restrictions, saying that it would be immoral to not take action.

“To those who say we don’t need this stuff, and we should leave people to take their own risks, I say these risks are not our own," he said.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Boris Johnson says common sense is 'single greatest weapon'

“The tragic reality of having Covid is that your mild cough can be someone else’s death knell.

“And as for the suggestion that we should simply lock up the elderly and the vulnerable – with all the suffering that would entail – I must tell you that this is just not realistic, because if you let the virus rip through the rest of the population it would inevitably find its way through to the elderly as well, and in much greater numbers.

“That’s why we need to suppress the virus now, and as for that minority who may continue to flout the rules, we will enforce those rules with tougher penalties and fines of up to £10,000.”

He asked the country to “summon a spirit of togetherness”.

IN FULL: Boris Johnson's address to the nation on new coronavirus restrictions