Douglas Fraser
Scotland business & economy editor

Image source, Getty Images

Mortgage lenders and the Law Society of Scotland have agreed to temporary measures which should unblock the transfer of home ownership which had been close to completion.

Many such transactions - which were planned weeks or months ago - were put on hold this week, after Registers of Scotland, a government agency, suddenly closed the official register for new documents to be entered, citing health risks to its staff.

A technical legal fix has been agreed, and most major lenders are willing to accept it - meaning they should now release mortgage funds.

However, it’s expected that few new home sales can be agreed during the health crisis and lockdown.

Angie Brown
Edinburgh and East reporter

The Pentland Hills regional park which runs along the edge of Edinburgh and into Midlothian has been closed to motorists in a bid to stop the spread of Coronavirus.

All the car parks which access the 20 miles (32km) park have been blocked off with barriers.

The area is now only open to people who can walk or cycle to it.

There are at least six large car parks around the park.

Image source, Ralph Ehoff

An offshore worker has tested positive for coronavirus after being evacuated by coastguard helicopter from a production and storage vessel 80 miles to the west of Shetland.The Aoka Mizu crew member had been working at Hurricane Energy's Lancaster field before being evacuated to the mainland on Wednesday night for medical reasons.Hurricane Energy said the worker was now receiving medical treatment.Production at Lancaster has not been affected, the company added.

Image source, Brewdog

Brewdog's chief operating officer has said the coronavirus is the "most challenging thing" the craft beer company has ever faced.

David McDowall said while the firm lost 70% of its revenue overnight after the UK-wide lockdown, staff were paid today through the government's job retention scheme.

He said 80% of wages will continue to be paid for the next three months.

"We have two priorities - to make sure that the business survives and to protect the jobs and livelihoods of as many of our team members as possible," he said.

"Business in general is going to be so different. We're going to feel the impact of this for years."

You can hear the full interview on BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime with Fiona Stalker from 16:00.

Sally Reid has kept locals on their toes this week - as they peer out their windows for the next round of 'neighbourhood hangman'.

After noticing she had a large supply of post-it notes, the Scot Squad actress stuck a makeshift version of the game on her Mount Florida flat window - not realising just how many people would get involved.

"I looked outside and there were five or six letters on the flats opposite - so I started doing it every day," she said.

"I've done two films and a musical - today's is a song."

The game has become so popular it has made the rounds on social media, popping up in community Facebook groups.

Image source, Sally Reid

The first minister is urging people to do the right thing to save lives as the weekend approaches.

Nicola Sturgeon revealed the number of deaths from coronavirus in Scotland had risen to 33 as she asked people to follow advice to stay at home.

Ms Sturgeon also thanked the country for joining in the "national endeavour" of coping with the outbreak.

Graeme Ogston
Tayside and Central Reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Michelin Dundee will not restart production when coronavirus lock down restrictions are lifted, the tyre manufacturer has confirmed.

It had initially planned to pause production until 13 April and then it intended to restart manufacturing until the factory’s eventual closure in June.

Michelin said that resuming production was "unviable and unwise".

It said the decision was taken in agreement with the Unite union and all employees will continue to be paid at their normal rate until the end of June.

Image source, Getty Images

The event billed as Scotland's biggest free music festival has been put on hold this year.

Youth Beatz was due to be held at Park Farm in Dumfries on 27 and 28 June.

Organisers said they hoped to hold the festival - attended by an estimated 40,000 music fans - later in the year.

The Western Isles is one of only two health board areas in Scotland where no cases of Covid-19 have been recorded.

The other is NHS Orkney.

Lisa Summers
BBC Scotland Health Correspondent

Scotland’s chief medical officer had another grim message for the public today. Up to 65,000 people in Scotland could already have coronavirus. And what’s more this is early days.

Dr Catherine Calderwood says Scotland is only beginning to see that steep acceleration of cases. That sadly will mean many more deaths, and acute pressure on our intensive care beds.

It’s hoped that by introducing strict measures in Scotland now, it might stretch out demand on our most critical services, but that is a hope and nothing is certain.

Increasingly, we are hearing about frontline NHS staff becoming ill themselves. Everyone needs to brace themselves for what is to come. The Chief Medical Officer said it will be weeks before the tide will turn.

David Cowan
BBC Scotland

An anti-poverty charity which works in some of Scotland’s most deprived communities is hoping the response to the pandemic will be a catalyst for permanent change.

Community Renewal says many people have quickly lost what were already low-paid jobs, and they are concerned about the mental health of isolated residents in places such as Muirhouse in Edinburgh and Glasgow’s Govanhill.

But its director Paul McColgan says there are reasons to be optimistic: “There’s been an initial surge of enthusiasm with everybody really helping out, but we’d like to see how we can capture that for the long term.

"If you think about it this way: if a storm comes in and destroys a shanty town, what do you want to do after the storm has passed? Do you want to rebuild the shanty town or do we want to build a structure that’s a bit more solid for people?”

Lisa Summers
BBC Scotland Health Correspondent

With the news today that Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus, it was inevitable the first minister would be asked about priority testing.

Nicola Sturgeon says she has not been tested herself but, if she were to display symptoms, would follow a protocol that has been agreed for “senior” figures by the chief medical officers of the four nations.

Keeping the country running is vital in this time of crisis so it would be hard to criticise those who lead government for not being a priority.

However, many medics I’ve spoken to have legitimate questions about why respective governments did not act more quickly to scale testing up. Why did we not acquire more tests for health workers and their families? And should there have been wider testing in the community given they could see this emergency coming?

Image source, Renaissance Care

Residents at a care home in Aberdeen have been chirped up thanks to the arrival of some unusual new housemates.

Residents at Renaissance Care’s Jesmond Care Home in Bridge of Don have been caring for hen eggs.

And their hard work has paid off with the arrival of 17 baby chicks.

Jade McGowan, activities co-ordinator, said caring for the birds had been a “great distraction” to the ongoing concern being experienced due to Covid-19.

She said: “Having a few, extra-cute housemates was exactly what the residents needed to take their minds off what can be an upsetting and confusing time for all.”

Image source, Renaissance Care

Chief Medical Officer Catherine Calderwood told the media conference that the four CMOs of the UK had agreed a "protocol" for testing "significant" figures in government.

She said they would be tested only if there were clinical reasons in the first instance.

Ms Calderwood said the test was not useful if people did not have the appropriate clinical symptoms.

She said the tests would be for "significant people the loss of whom from government would make a big difference to our coronavirus effort".

West Suffolk MP Matt Hancock says he's tested positive for COVID-19.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care tweeted the news and said his symptoms were "mild" and he was self-isolating and working from home.

Earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed he had also tested positive and was self-isolating in Downing Street.

Answering questions at her media conference, Ms Sturgeon said she was sending her best wishes to Boris Johnson and his family after the news that he had tested positive for coronavirus.

"i send my best wishes to him for a very speedy recovery," she said.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman outlines new NHS Mental Health funding support.

She says the extra £3.8m allows the NHS to "scale-up" the mental health hub to 24-hour cover.

It will also boost the telephone and webchat helpline Breathing Space, she said.

The chief medical officer says she stood on her doorstep at 8pm last night like many other people and clapped for the NHS and its workers.

Ms Calderwood says: "Twitter tells me that is the first time I've been seen smiling for quite some time.

"I felt very emotional and very proud to be part of the NHS."

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says she was encouraged to see the chief medical officer smile.

The chief medical officer said that only about 1,000 people had been confirmed with coronavirus but she thought the real figure might be 65,000.

"The vast majority of those people maybe do not realise they have coronavirus or perhaps have symptoms and thank you to them for self-isolating," she says.