Six cases of the Covid-19 Omicron variant have been identified in Scotland.

Four cases are in the Lanarkshire area and two have been identified in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area, the Scottish Government has confirmed.

This follows the finding of three cases in England, with the first two in Nottingham and Essex, while the third was detected on Sunday in a person with travel links to southern Africa.

With the latest cases, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, said that some of the cases identified have no travel history, which suggests there is a degree of community transmission.

Public Health Scotland and local health protection teams are working together and “enhanced” contact tracing is being undertaken to establish the origin of the virus and any individuals the people have come into contact with in recent weeks.

All close contacts of suspected Omicron cases will be advised to self-isolate for 10 days, regardless of their vaccination status.

Britain will convene an urgent meeting of G7 health ministers today to discuss the variant first detected in South Africa amid concerns it could spread rapidly and partially evade existing jabs.

Passengers arriving in the UK from 4am on Tuesday will be required to take a PCR test by the end of their second day from entry and isolate until they receive a negative test, while 10 southern African nations have been added to the red travel list.