FIFE'S top business boss has hit out at the latest COVID-19 restrictions, describing them as a "huge blow".

And he demanded First Minister Nicola Sturgeon produced more evidence about the danger posed by the Omicron variant before even tougher steps were considered.

A raft of stricter measures, to take effect on Boxing Day, were announced on Tuesday, and Alan Mitchell, chief executive of Fife Chamber of Commerce, said: “We can perhaps be relieved that the new restrictions don’t go as far as many of us feared and thankful that there is at least some additional money available to help the businesses most affected.

“But they still represent a huge blow to the hospitality and event businesses they fall on and we are still all left wondering just what additional measures might subsequently be introduced to tackle the, yet unsubstantiated, threat of Omicron.

“The Scottish Government does not know it will definitely push up rates of hospitalisation, serious illness or death: if it had such evidence, it would have released it.

“Looking ahead, it should not impose further restrictions unless the harm caused by higher transmission of Omicron will exceed the harm caused by additional restrictions.

In announcing further restrictions, the First Minister said: "We don’t yet know if the proportion of Omicron cases needing hospital care will be lower, higher or the same as with Delta. However, there is still no compelling evidence that Omicron is intrinsically milder than previous strains.

"However, even if the proportion of cases needing hospital care is lower, a smaller proportion of a much larger number of infections, will still have a deeply damaging impact.

“If large numbers of people become infected – even mildly – the impact on the economy and critical services through sickness and isolation absences will be crippling."

But Mr Mitchell hit back: “Two years into this pandemic we know that stop/start lockdowns and restrictions damage mental health, fracture communities and families, harm education, create a huge backlog of NHS treatment, put companies out of business, threaten jobs and livelihoods and push the public finances into the danger zone.

“They must all be modelled and subject to expert scrutiny and comment to the same extent that Omicron transmission and hospitalisation rates are."

The First Minister stated on Tuesday: "One hundred ScotRail services were cancelled yesterday due to staff absence. Theatres are already being forced to cancel shows due to COVID cases amongst cast and crews.

"And – even more seriously – staffing shortages are already being felt across the supply chain, and they are exacerbating the intense pressures that the NHS and emergency services are working under."