LONDON, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Wednesday announced that restrictions will be further tightened in the region to curb surging coronavirus infections.

The new measures, which will come into effect on Saturday pending the approval of the Scottish parliament, include that only shops selling essential items such as clothing, footwear, baby equipment, homeware and books will be allowed to offer click-and-collect service.

Customers are no longer allowed to collect takeaways from inside restaurant and food must be handed over through a hatch or doorway.

It is also against the law to drink alcohol outside in public in most areas in Scotland.

"We believe that both individually and collectively these additional measures, in further reducing the interactions that allow the virus to spread, will help our essential efforts to suppress it," she said.

Sturgeon called on the public in Scotland to "minimize your interactions to the bare essentials".

"In everything you do, assume that the virus is there with you -- that either you have it or any person you are in contact with has it -- and act in a way that prevents it passing between you," she said.

"All of this means staying at home except for genuinely essential purposes -- including working from home whenever possible," she added.

Sturgeon said there are signs that the lockdown might be having an effect but that there was "no room for complacency".

Scotland went into lockdown on Jan. 5 with people only allowed to leave their homes for essential purposes. All schools have moved to remote learning since the start of the year, except for vulnerable children and those of key workers.

The British government is only responsible for lockdown restrictions in England. The devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are responsible for their own policies in relation to public health matters.

Another 45,533 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 3,164,051, according to official figures released Tuesday.

Another 1,243 have died within 28 days of a positive test, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain to 83,203, the data showed.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines. Enditem

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