BBC Radio Scotland

Dr Chris Smith, a virologist at the University of Cambridge, says how to exit lockdown is "the number one question".

"If we have no functioning economy we can’t pay for the NHS and poverty causes ill health," he tells Mornings with Kaye Adams on BBC Radio Scotland. "We need to find a way out and we need to find it soon."

He adds: "We are stopping the virus circulating, suppressing it to low levels but we remain, by and large, a population of people who are susceptible to it.

"What we do have going for us is that we are a bit behind the curve in terms of disease impact.

"We can look to countries like Germany and Austria who are beginning to put forward plans for some kind of gradual release of sanctions. If they work, we can ask how can we apply those measures here."

BBC Radio Scotland

"We need a plan for businesses to reopen," Tanja Lister, owner of the Kylesku Hotel in Sutherland, tells Mornings with Kaye Adams on BBC Radio Scotland.

"We have around 20 employees and most are still living with us because they have nowhere else to go.

"Often the debate gets framed in terms of health versus economy, but we’re not just talking about money, we’re talking about people’s lives at the same time.

"Mass unemployment will have a huge impact for years to come."

Image source, PERTH PICTURE AGENCY

There is broad public support for the way police are enforcing the coronavirus lockdown rules, a YouGov poll has found.

Around three-quarters of the 1,600 people across Scotland, England and Wales questioned said they were “comfortable” with officers issuing fines, setting up roadblocks and arresting people who refuse to go home.

But about one in three believe officers have gone too far in some cases, such as using drones to film visitors at beauty spots.

Image source, Susanne Dobbie

Scottish Championship striker Stephen Dobbie is sporting a new look in the name of charity.

He had his hair shaved off - as did his children Jack and Maxwell - in order to help raise funds for the NHS during the coronavirus outbreak.

The family said it had been "overwhelmed by the support shown" which has raised thousands of pounds.

Image source, Getty Images

Scotland's business owners from South Asian communities might be more affected by the lockdown, according a business body.

The Scottish Chamber of Commerce (SCC) is concerned issues around awareness and trust will stop people coming forward for government help.

Deputy chief executive Charandeep Singh told BBC Good Morning Scotland: "Those that are making the most of the support out there will be better equipped coming through the other end."

A range of measures have been introduced by ministers to help businesses while they might be forced to shut or reduce service.

Image source, Getty Images

Scotland's travelling funfairs are facing financial chaos as a result of the coronavirus lockdown, says showman Alex James Colquhoun.

The centuries-old tradition of "the shows" touring the country has ground to a halt, leaving many of the families travelling the Scottish circuits struggling financially, with the prospect of no work in the lucrative spring and summer months.

Industry leaders are unsure when the events will return.

Demand for flights is in freefall due to Covid-19 and experts warn 25 million jobs in the sector could be at risk.

Patients on kidney dialysis in Scotland are raising concerns that they are not included on a register of vulnerable people eligible for food deliveries.

John Wiliams, from Edinburgh, needs three four-hour sessions of dialysis a week and says he and many other patients are feeling "left out and vulnerable".

Mr Williams told Good Morning Scotland that he was supported by his wife and son, but said many other patients did not have family support and needed help with food deliveries and shopping.

The Scottish government said detailed work was under way with supermarkets to allow them to prioritise delivery slots for those in the high risk group.

A spokesperson added that they government would continue to add to the central list of those who needed extra support for shielding the vulnerable.

Image source, Getty Images

A Scottish government spokeswoman said the safety of health and social care workers was "paramount".

Responding to the specific concerns raised about what level of PPE was required for home care staff, she added: "We will continue to engage with Unison and other bodies on this issue and we'll have an ongoing dialogue with them and other partners to ensure all health and social care workers have equipment available to wear as appropriate".

"More than six million pieces of PPE have now been delivered to more than 1,000 locations, including care homes".

Image source, AFP/Scottish government

Andrew Black
BBC Scotland

Image source, Scotch Whisky Association

Scotch whisky sales overseas hit £4.91bn last year, but the coronavirus lockdown means exporting has been hit hard. Speyside distillery owner Billy Walker, who's worked in the industry since 1971, says: "I'm pretty sure the market will recover, but the uncertainty is - when and how long will it take ?"

He tells BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "It's an extremely strong sector and we can already see some signs of recovery, particularly in Asia." Mr Walker says interaction with customers, importers and distributors on social media will play an increasingly important role in the recovery.

He says his Glenallachie distillery is operating with a skeleton staff, and says parts of the industry, such as distillation, can continue or re-start "relatively easily". He adds: "It's more difficult in bottling where there are people involved and spatial awareness is much more difficult to manage. We have to live by the rules and take the advice from government."

Mr Walker also asked government to consider business rates relief to help the industry through the lockdown.

Dr Hanif says he accepted that availability of the masks was "pretty poor" around the world.

The GP told the BBC that it should be possible to make the masks locally in Scotland, rather than trying to import them.

"These are not complex pieces of equipment to produce. They're not technical pieces of equipment. They can be easily produced and we would ask and request that the government start doing this," he said.

Dr Hanif says the masks typically being provided are "fluid resistant surgical masks", which are designed to stop wearers transmitting an infection.

But he said they were now being used for the opposite effect - to stop the wearer becoming infected with coronavirus.

Dr Hanif told Good Morning Scotland that more studies were showing these masks were of "very little use" against coronavirus.

The medics who signed the letter would like to be supplied with "N95 masks" which are more tightly woven, have a tighter fit and a designed to stop airborne particles being breathed in by healthcare workers.

The Scottish government has said the protection of healthcare workers was its highest priority and the equipment met standards laid down by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

But Dr Hanif told Good Morning Scotland the WHO standards were designed for the whole world and took into account that not every country had the resources of the UK or the US.

"We are a G7 country, amongst the richest in the world. We strive for clinical excellence in every area of health care in the UK," he said.

The GP said that the main concerns centred around the masks and urged the Scottish governemnt to "err on the side of caution" and issue a better standard of equipment.

Image source, Getty Images

The lead author of a letter to the Scottish government expressing "grave concerns" about protective equipment supplied to medical professionals says much of the equipment is "simply not adequate".

GP Dr Shazad Hanif told Good Morning Scotland there was less of a concern now over the quantity of the PPE provided.

But he said the poor quality of the equipment meant health care workers were constantly worrying about their own wellbeing.

A director at the Glasgow and Clyde Alcohol and Drug Recovery Services has welcomed extra Scottish government support being offered to those affected by substance misuse during the coronavirus crisis.

The measures include funding for more access to life-saving anti-overdose medications and increased capacity at support services.

Dr Saket Priyadarshi told BBC Scotland the outbreak was a particularly difficult time for those with alcohol and drug use problems.

He said many were already at a higher risk of developing complications with Covid-19 because of underlying health problems, and said they would also be experienced increased levels of isolation and anxiety.

The ferry operator is reducing its weekly sailings from 138 to 108, having made 150 staff redundant.

Image source, Getty Images

A critical care consultant says he would generally reassured if a patient in intensive care had not been moved onto ventilator after two days, but warns there is always uncertainty in intensive care.

Prof Mike Grocott, who is also vice president of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, said if a patient remained stable for a period it would be reasonable for them to be transferred to a normal ward and eventually leave hospital.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has spent a second night in intensive care in a hospital London, but has not needed a ventilator.

Prof Grocott said there would be additional pressures on the team looking after him.

"In general we look after people the same whoever we are and that's a very important principle," he told Good Morning Scotland.

"But I'm sure the doctors and nurses caring for Boris Johnson will be feeling a little bit more nervous for obvious reasons - the eyes of the nation are upon them."

Image source, Wesley Shah

When 98-year-old Daphne Shah was rushed to hospital with coronavirus, her son feared the worst - but now she is back home and on the mend.

"When she left in the ambulance, I honestly never thought I'd see her again", Wesley Shah said.

"They had never come across a person of nearly 99 who has recovered from the virus."

Mrs Shah tested positive for Covid-19 in Dundee's Ninewells Hospital and spent over a week there before being discharged with medication on Monday.

Image source, Scottish government

Baroness Annabel Goldie says the fast progress achieved in converting the SEC in Glasgow into a temporary hospital is a credit to the partnership between the Scottish government, the NHS and the military.

The minister of state for defence said the MOD had supplied experts in planning and logistics to help build the emergency facility, called NHS Louisa Jordan.

Nearly 800 contractors and NHS staff have been working on site since construction started on 31 March.

The MOD has also offered planning support to local resilience partnerships, the former Scottish Conservatives leader told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland.

She added: "It would be very good news for all of Scotand if it didn't have to be used, but Nicola Sturgeon is absolutely right to plan - as the UK government has had to plan - that she needs that capacity and reserve in the very unfortuante event that our hospitals can't cope."