Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

David Wheeler from Drummond Laurie accountants, which is helping to process claims, says the job retention scheme system seems to have worked well on its first day.

"The key is having the information ready and teed up before you start the process."

However, Mr Wheeler says processing the claim is not the time consuming part - calculating what is to be reclaimed is.

The complexity of this will vary depending on complexity of the pay roll he adds.

Madeleine Smiley, who put in a claim for 30 staff today, says the portal was "relatively straight forward" but there is very little support from payroll providers to help calculate payments.

She says the government's calculator only works if staff are on fixed amounts but the situation is less clear for those who do not.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak, scientist Angela McLean and public health specialist Yvonne Doyle will take part in UK briefing shortly.

First, here's a look at recent developments:

• There has been a further 449 deaths with Covid-19 in UK hospitals confirmed, bringing total to 16,509
• The UK is planning to use the blood of coronavirus survivors to treat hospital patients who have the disease
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told colleagues he is concerned that relaxing lockdown measures too soon could lead to a second outbreak

• There is "relatively low confidence" a delayed delivery of 400,000 protective gowns will arrive on Monday, a senior NHS figure said
• The government scheme for workers who have been furloughed - given a temporary leave of absence - has opened for applications.

Image source, Getty Images

New guidance to support the home learning of children and young people during the new term has been issued by the Scottish government.

The guidance covers three main areas:

• learning and teaching at home
• parental involvement and engagement
• support for teachers and school leaders

Read more here., external

A drive-through coronavirus testing facility is to open in Inverness as part of the UK government’s UK-wide effort to increase testing for thousands more NHS and other key workers.

The site will operate on an appointments-only basis and provide swab tests to identify whether someone has coronavirus.

The UK government said those who test negative for coronavirus could return to work as soon as possible.

Paul O'Hare
BBC Scotland News

Scottish Labour's deputy leader said 15 residents have died following an outbreak of Covid-19 at a care home in Dumbarton.

Jackie Baillie, who is also the local MSP, described the reports from Crosslet House as "devastating".

West Dunbartonshire Council confirmed it has suspended new admissions to the 70-bed home for the time being but declined to comment on the number of deaths.

The Daily Record , externalsaid Ms Baillie was made aware of the deaths, which have occurred in the last month, after being contacted by a whistleblower.

Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, Thinkstock

Interim Chief Medical Officer Dr Gregor Smith has urged people to contact their GP if they have persistent or new signs of cancer, after indications that urgent referral numbers had dropped.

GP Dr Andrew Buist tells John Beattie it seems some people are feeling they do not want to bother their GP, but doctors want patients to contact them.

Patients will first be offered a telephone consultation, then a physical appointment and examination will follow if required, he explains.

"Pick up the phone, call your GP," Dr Buist says, adding: "We have time for you."

Image source, Getty Images

A government pay scheme to keep staff on the payroll despite not working due to coronavirus has gone live.

HMRC chief executive Jim Harra told the BBC's Today programme that employers had made 67,000 job claims in the first 30 minutes.

Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, external, the government will cover 80% of workers' wages, up to £2,500 a month, if they are put on leave.

Millions of workers are expected to be "furloughed" because of the lockdown.

Drivetime are about to focus on the scheme now.

Scotland's interim chief medical officer has voiced fears that people with cancer symptoms are not coming forward due to the coronavirus crisis.

Dr Gregor Smith said there had been a 72% reduction in urgent suspected cancer referrals by doctors.

Dr Andrew Buist, a GP at Ardblair Medical Practice in Blairgowrie, and also the chair of the BMA's Scottish GP Committee is on Drivetime with John Beattie now.

Coronavirus has plunged the world into uncertainty and the constant news about the pandemic can feel relentless. All of this is taking its toll on people's mental health. So where can you go for support?

NHS Inform, external: As well as providing the most up to date guidance on physical health during the pandemic, the website also has a range of tools to support wellbeing - including guides to coping with depression and anxiety.

SAMH, external: Tips on protecting your mental health at this difficult time, including a blog series.

Image source, Getty Images

There are also a number of helplines available over the phone if you need someone to talk to...

• Breathing Space, external: A weekend and night-time service run by NHS 24: 0800 83 85 87.
• Age Scotland, external: An advice and support line specifically for older people: 0800 12 44 222.
• NSPCC Scotland, external: A support line for children and young people: 0800 1111.
• Samaritans, external: A 24/7 service for crisis support: 116 123.

Image source, Getty Images

An early draft of a study by Swansea University and the University of Manchester has found social distancing and isolation is "having significant impacts on people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing".

The study found:

• Social distancing is leading to heightened feelings of anxiety and depression
• People in low-paid or insecure jobs have experienced the greatest impact
• Some people are fearful they will experience health or social anxiety after the lockdown, while others plan to go back to normal levels of social activity as soon as possible

Research leader Dr Simon Williams said people's efforts to stick to social distancing was "coming at a significant cost to mental health and wellbeing".

Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

Drivetime with John Beattie gets underway shortly, as ever you can listen here with us on BBC Scotland's live page:

• when will the lockdown end? No time soon according to the first minister - Drivetime has all the latest from the Scottish government briefing
• how have businesses got on with the UK government's furlough scheme which opened for applications this morning?
• the plight of elderly victims of Covid-19 in care homes remains under the spotlight, with some not getting tested
• John will also speak to a former chief scientific adviser who says the UK government has handled the outbreak badly
• he'll also be asking if there's anything to laugh about in lockdown and exactly one month since the schools were shut - how are Scotland's kids faring?

Pauline McLean
BBC Scotland Arts Correspondent

The arts funding body Creative Scotland has announced a further £2m of grant aid for struggling artists and organisations.

The extra money - half from the Scottish government, half from the Freelands Foundation - will be used to increase an earlier £2m fund to provide financial support for those most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Image source, Creative Scotland

Creative Scotland and Screen Scotland had previously announced an £11m funding package for those in need of immediate support in the film and television sector, as well as individuals and organisations trying to develop and create work.

Creative Scotland's Iain Munro said: “We’re continuing our focus on keeping funding flowing and today's significant additional contributions from the Scottish Government and Freelands Foundation will enable us to enhance support for those in immediate need and help to sustain people and their work at this time.”

• There are more than 2.4m infections worldwide, with more than 166,000 deaths, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
• America continues to report the highest number of cases - nearly 760,000
• Lockdown restrictions are beginning to be lifted in some parts of Europe. Denmark, Germany and the Czech Republic are reopening some shops, pupils are returning to kindergarten in Norway, and Poland is allowing people to visit parks and forests.
• India is also relaxing some lockdown rules in non-virus hotspots - with agricultural businesses, public works programmes, banks, and cargo transport allowed to resume
• Meanwhile France and Spain have both decided against a relaxation of measures for now

• The UK government's emergency pay scheme has gone live today, aiming to keep millions on payrolls while Covid-19 affects their jobs.
• In China, 73 major tourist sites have reopened, including areas along the Great Wall
• US oil prices have now dropped to a 21-year low as demand dries up

Image source, Getty Images

UK charity We Are With You are running a web chat tool, external to deliver advice on drugs, alcohol and mental health to people in isolation.

It is anonymous and is staffed by support workers - the same people who work with individuals at local services.

Lisa Summers
BBC Scotland Health Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Only a matter of weeks ago, I could have been at the SEC for a conference or a concert. But standing here today in the middle of hall five, I am in a fully functioning hospital.

There are cubicles with beds, monitoring equipment, PPE, portable x-ray equipment. It’s all here. But there are no patients.

The plan is to be able to mobilise within 48 hours should Scotland’s hospitals reach capacity. Unlike the Nightingale in London – NHS Louisa Jordan has been designed to treat Covid patients who are recovering. The hospital has intensive care capacity with ventilation if required but it is not the expectation that the most critically ill will need to be treated here. But it is empty, and the Scottish government remains confident it will remain so.

So some have asked why spend £43 million pounds on a facility you will never need. When I asked the new hospital chief executive this question, she told me it would have been “unthinkable” not to have built this hospital, just in case. She told me it’s here for as long as is needed. But, when it is eventually decommissioned, there are plans to distribute all the equipment, the beds, even the pharmacy stocks to the wider NHS.

It might be in time, the Louisa Jordan will have a role to play in freeing up other hospitals to get back to day-to-day duties. To start reintroducing treatments that are currently on hold. But for now it is on standby with a hope it will not be used.

A Scottish nurse who worked to tackle the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone is part of the team in charge of running the new NHS Nightingale field hospital in Manchester.

David Anderson, 51, who was born in Montrose, has been seconded from his job as a humanitarian health adviser with charity UK-Med.

He believes the experience of dealing with the Ebola epidemic in west Africa can prove crucial insight into how to get on top of Covid-19.

The new 648-bed facility at Manchester Central Convention Centre opened on Friday. Scotland’s field hospital - the NHS Louisa Jordan - is also now ready for patients.

Image source, ALEXI LUBOMIRSKI

Annie Lennox, Alan Cumming, Sir Chris Hoy and Ally McCoist have been added to the bill of a crowdfunding event to buy personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline medical teams.

For the Love of Scotland, which will be hosted by DJ Edith Bowman, will include music, literature, poetry as well as stories of community spirit submitted from the public.

The evening, which will be streamed on Gigs in Scotland Facebook, external or YouTube, external, is aiming to raise £200,000

The Masks for Scotland crowdfunding initiative was founded by Prof Jill Belch of Dundee University in response to the urgent need for PPE across the country.

She said: “The Medical Teams who protect us must be protected too. We must help save their lives, the lives of their families and their patients by providing correct PPE."

Creator and host Edith Bowman said: “For the Love Of Scotland will be three hours of people coming together through music, prose, comedy, conversation and thanks, featuring both plenty of well-known faces and members of the public."

For the Love of Scotland will be streamed from 18:00 to 21:00 on Wednesday.