The Press Association ask about staff testing in care homes and the testing of those arriving in a care home from hospital.

"Anyone leaving hospital after Covid-19 will have to test negative before they are discharged," says the first minister.

Interim Chief Medical Officer Dr Gregor Smith then adds: "We need to be careful not to see testing as the panacea for all of the challenges we face.

He says the most important aspect is that people in care homes are treated as individuals and that there is risk assessment to make sure that everything possible can be done to protect them and all other residents.

At the Scottish government briefing Jack Foster from Global says unregulated social carers have said they have been abandoned and forgotten about in terms of PPE.

Mr Foster says hundreds of unregulated social carers have been turned away from the PPE helpline.

The first minister says she does not want anyone to feel forgotten about or abandoned.

The regulated sector has had to be prioritised, but the unregulated sector has not been forgotten about, and efforts are underway to address their concerns, insists Ms Sturgeon.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman says how to reach personal assistants with PPE has almost been finalised.

Ms Freeman says: "Unpaid carers are equally important but harder to reach."

The government is trying to work through the organisations that represent their views, to get PPE to them, with the most likely way to be through local hubs.

At the Scottish government briefing Central FM ask if newly announced measures to aid the self-employed can be implemented quickly enough.

Nicola Sturgeon insists she understands how urgent this issue is but stresses the importance of the process to check eligibility and then to distribute the funds.

"These things are happening much more quickly than they would during normal times," says the first minister, who promises to have the various monies paid by the end of the month at the latest.

A quarter of Scottish deaths linked to coronavirus have occurred in care homes, new figures suggest.

The National Records of Scotland (NRS) said 962 deaths had now been registered in Scotland where the virus was mentioned on the death certificate.

The majority of these deaths occurred in hospital, but 25% were in care homes and 13% in other settings.

The NRS figures provide a wider picture of the impact of the virus than the figures announced each day, which only cover cases in hospitals.

Those figures from Health Protection Scotland, which reflect cases where a positive test has been recorded, put the death toll at 566 on 12 April.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the NRS report provided "a more accurate" figure.

BBC Scotland’s health correspondent Lisa Summers points out that Westminster Health Secretary Matt Hancock wants everyone in care homes in England tested for the virus and asks if that is not something the first minister wants to do here.

Ms Summers says 40% of all Covid-19 deaths are in the community and asks if more should be done to get GPs out to see these patients or get them into hospital and give them a better chance of recovery.

Image source, Getty Images

The first minister replies it should be a clinical decision where the best place to treat someone is.

Ms Sturgeon says, in terms of only testing symptomatic people in care homes, the tests may not be reliable where symptoms are not manifesting.

Interim Chief Medical Officer Dr Gregor Smith adds GPs decide the most appropriate place where people can get the most appropriate type of care they need, be it at home, a care home or in a hospital bed.

Ross Govans from STV says that with a quarter of the deaths taking place in care homes, is there a danger the sector will be overwhelmed?

The first minister reiterates that the government is moving as quickly as possible to expand testing so that all symptomatic patients are tested.

She says the government is working really hard to support care homes in terms of prevention and control.

Not all 433 affected care homes will still have the virus, however that number represents about 40% of care homes having had it as some stage, she says.

The virus spreads faster in care homes and hospitals so we must focus on infection prevention measures, adds the first minister.

New figures from the National Records of Scotland suggest a total of 962 deaths have been linked to Covid-19.

Peter McMahon from ITV Border asks the first minister to clarify that if more staff and residents had been tested at Scottish care homes earlier that it would have made no difference to the rate of infections and deaths.

"I do not have evidence that says that is the case," comes the reply.

Ms Sturgeon says that the most important steps are preventing infections in the first place and then the isolation measures taken to halt the spread, adding that care homes were given clear guidance from the outset.

She goes on to say that she has "never tried to underplay the important role testing has to play" in the management of this crisis.

In answer to a question about testing residents in care homes, Nicola Sturgeon says testing has to be used in the most effective way. She says its most important role in a care home is to establish the presence of the virus.

Interim chief medical officer, Dr Gregor Smith, says it's important there is clarity on the role testing has to play. Shielding the most vulnerable has to be the "absolute backbone" of care homes' strategy in fighting the virus, he says. Infection prevention and control measures also have to be maximised.

He adds that once you have tested the first patient and it is a confirmed to be coronavirus, the strategy for managing the outbreak does not change - no matter how many people you test in the care home.

Dr Smith adds there is no reason to test more patients after the first positive case has been detected.

Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman concentrates on the work being done to protect those in care homes.

She says the Scottish government is striving to make sure they all have what they need in terms of personal protective equipment - adding that she takes seriously the issues raised recently by Scottish Care and has "taken steps to provide further assurances".

She then outlines plans for public health directors to take on primary leadership roles in this area, designed to provide the maximum support for clinical assistance and infection control.

Scotland's interim chief medical officer says the figures emphasise that old people are particularly vulnerable.

Dr Gregor Smith also stresses the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in care homes.

Dr Smith adds: "Across the country, I know that GPs will continue to provide support to those care homes and I appeal to [GPs] to make sure that the way they are providing that support is done with the utmost sensitivity".

The first minister also refers to the further £220m announced today by Scotland's finance minister.

£120m of that will be for Small Businesss Grants for businesses with more than one eligible property.

A further £100m will target people currently not eligible, like self-employed people and smaller companies,

The government had been under pressure over a decision to give out grants on a one-per-business basis, rather than one-per-property as elsewhere in the UK.

Ms Sturgeon insists these measures will be in place before the end of the month.

The first minister says not all of the increase in deaths can be attributed to Covid-19, which is a very serious issue to be looked into.

Ms Sturgeon says NRS has published the number of people dying on a particular date up until 5 April 2020.

She adds she is always very acutely aware each death represents the loss of a "unique, irreplaceable individual".

Image source, Getty Images

"We are moving now to test all symptomatic patients in care homes," says the first minister.

She says this is important for the confidence of relatives, staff and the wider community, given the vulnerability of care homes.

The guidance for care homes is already in place she stresses.

The first minister says almost 25% of the total deaths have occurred in care homes.

They can be more likely to have outbreaks, she explains.

433 care homes have reported outreaks of Covid-19 in Scotand, confirms Ms Sturgeon.

She says we must do all we can to prevent infection in care homes.

Nicola Sturgeon confirms:

• As of Sunday there have been a total of 962 suspected or confirmed coronavirus deaths in Scotland
• 608 of those deaths were registered in seven days up to 12th April

• 596 of the total 962 deaths took place in hospital
• 237 of those deaths were in Scottish care homes due to suspected Covid-19
• 129 of the deaths happened at home or in some other setting

Nicola Sturgeon stresses the new weekly figures are from the National Records Scotland and are different from the daily figures, which only include deaths where there has been a positive test for the virus.

They include suspected cases where no test has taken place.

Read more here.