FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon has written to Boris Johnson and called for “urgent engagement” from the UK Government on financial support for businesses as cases of the Omicron variant continue to rise.

Sturgeon gave an unscheduled Covid-19 update at the beginning of FMQs and said that the situation has become “very serious”, adding that she had requested to speak to the Prime Minister on Thursday.

The First Minister urged the public to stay at home as much as possible to reduce transmission, and consider cancelling plans unless they are necessary.

But for businesses, she added that the “type and scale” of financial support available at the beginning of the pandemic, such as furlough, is no longer in place and that devolved administrations do not have the mechanisms to raise the funds needed themselves.

READ MORE: Scotland's Omicron guidance 'much clearer' than UK's, says health expert Andrew Hayward

It comes as Chancellor Rishi Sunak is underfire from a hospitality union after it was revealed he was in California on a four-day trip, while many are bracing themselves for a tough Christmas.

She told MSPs: “We need the UK Government to act urgently, in the same way some other countries are already doing.

“I made this point again at a COBRA meeting yesterday, chaired by Michael Gove and attended by the chief secretary to the treasury, but this now needs the urgent engagement of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor.

“We must not sleepwalk into an emergency that for both health and business will be much greater as a result of inaction then it will be if we act firmly and strongly now.

“I’ve therefore written to the Prime Minister this morning appealing to him to put the necessary support schemes in place. Such is the urgency I have asked to speak to him directly later today.”

The First Minister added that it was not a choice between protecting “health or the economy”.

She added: “A surge of infections is indeed already causing staff absences which will also cripple the economy and other critical services.”

READ MORE: Former Tory MSP Adam Tomkins has tweet complaint dismissed

She added that it was a “very serious situation” and reiterated her advice to the public on keeping infections low.

Sturgeon said: “Please reduce your contact with people from households other than your own as much as you possibly can.

“For now, please stay at home much more than you normally would and as much as is feesible. “Right now the risk of getting Covid from interactions with others is high and it is rising.”

The National:

Sturgeon (pictured) added that reducing community transmission will allow the government to keep schools open until the end of term.

It comes as Sunak came under fire for a four-day trip to the US, which the Treasury said was a long planned event where the Chancellor will be meeting tech and investment industry leaders.

But the trip comes as England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Witty urged people to “de-prioritise” social events amid the surging number of Omicron cases.