That concludes our live coverage of the coronavirus crisis for Wednesday. Today we learned:

• Officially recorded deaths in Scotland are 1,616
• A prison officer with Covid-19 has died
• The first minister is promising a "grown up conversation" about how the lockdown is ended.

Live coverage will resume early on Thursday.

The first minister said she will take a different coronavirus approach for Scotland than the rest of the UK if the evidence suggests it is the right thing to do.

On the calls from some quarters to do this now, Ms Sturgeon said: “I’ll be frank with people that if in this discussion you find your starting point is either we must have a separate Scottish approach or we must have a UK-wide approach at all costs, then I would respectfully say to you that is the wrong starting point.”

The first minister said her administration had a “horrendously difficult balance to strike” in working out the next steps for Scotland’s response to coronavirus.

The first minister suggested that a phased approach to lifting lockdown measures is the most likely route.

Ms Sturgeon said: “We talk about things being closed or opening again, it may not be that binary.

“As businesses reopen they may have to work in different ways so that people can continue to stay apart, the same may be true of schools for example.”

She added that until a vaccine was available then it is “very likely we will not be living our lives in a way that we have been used to”.

Nicola Sturgeon has said revealing her lockdown exit planning is the start of a “grown up conversation” with the public about the “new normal” for Scotland.

The Scottish government will publish a paper on Thursday aimed at charting a way forward beyond the coronavirus lockdown.

The first minister described the document as a “first cut” of post-lockdown life and the start of a “grown up conversation with the public about the complexities of the judgements that we have to make".

Speaking on BBC Scotland's ‘Coronavirus: Scotland’s Response’, Ms Sturgeon said she was aiming to get “as much of normality back” as possible.

Care home owner Robert Kilgour has issued an urgent appeal for extra Scottish local authority funding for the social care sector as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“To my knowledge, only Fife and Dumfries & Galloway Councils are so far providing any added financial support to the independent care homes in their area," he says.

“Why are no other Scottish local authorities helping care homes out financially at this very difficult time? Many English local authorities are providing extra financial support to care homes in their areas, funded by extra UK government monies they have received."

Mr Kilgour’s Renaissance Care company has 700 residents in its 15 care homes, 70% of whom are local authority clients.

"The Scottish government has received extra monies from the UK government. Why have they not passed more money on to Scottish local authorities to enable them to offer more support to care homes in their area?" he adds.

So-called 'blanks' at UK ports suggest global trade slowdown is starting to bite

Morag Kinniburgh
BBC Scotland

A survey suggests levels of loneliness in Scottish adults has more than doubled since lockdown began with highest levels among 18-25 year olds.

The Mental Health Foundation Scotland , externalwarns better policies are needed to support hundreds of thousands of people at risk of long term illness in a service already unable to cope with demand.

Fraser Murray, 21, was furloughed from his tourism job, works overnight shifts stacking supermarket shelves and lives on his own in a single hostel bedsit in central Edinburgh.

‘’It can bring out things that you may not have known about yourself. You get really, really lonely and really anxious.

“It does really feel like you’re locking in a shell so it can be quite, really daunting and frustrating as well’.”

MPs have agreed to allow votes to be cast remotely, but the technology isn't ready yet.

Image source, Scottish Prison Service

A prison officer has become the first in Scotland to die of coronavirus, the Scottish Prison Service has confirmed.

The man is believed to have worked in HMYOI Polmont near Falkirk.

Image source, Getty Images

An RAF Puma helicopter has been used for the first time to transfer a patient with severe symptoms of coronavirus to hospital from the Isle of Arran.

Three pumas are based at Kinloss to support NHS Scotland.

The critically ill person was taken to the University Hospital Crosshouse in Kilmarnock early this morning for enhanced care.

Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

Lydia Guthrie says she is happy to put her faith in the NHS after volunteering to test a new Covid-19 vaccine in a trial being run by the University of Oxford.

She tells Drivetime that the scientists, one of many groups across the UK, are looking for 500 participants to take part.

"My understanding is that, because they have skipped some of the animal testing stages, the participants have to be in really good health as a way of managing risk," she says.

"I am not a scientist, but it is my understanding that they have taken part of a vaccine that's already been tested - and is safe - and they have genetically altered it to be effective for Covid-19 and need to test this version of it."

Ms Guthrie is aware there could be side-effects but adds: "I believe it is very important to take part in vaccine trials because it's a way of playing a small part for the good of the community. It feels like a small thing I can do to contribute, but I think the real heroes are those going to work day, in day out.

"It comes down to whether you trust the NHS and I do."

Image source, Getty Images

A star-studded event to raise money to buy protective equipment for the NHS is being streamed online.

The three-hour live stream, which has just started is being hosted by DJ Edith Bowman and features Annie Lennox, KT Tunstall and Olympian Sir Chris Hoy.

Image source, Getty Images

Actors Martin Compston, James McAvoy and Peter Capaldi are also taking part.

The "For the Love of Scotland" fundraiser is helping raise money for the Masks for Scotland charity.

The event is being streamed on the Gigs in Scotland Facebook, external and YouTube pages.

Read more here

1. NHS Inform, external

The latest from NHS Scotland and the Scottish government, including social distancing and stay at home advice.

2. Ready Scotland, external

Staying at home does not mean you are alone - there are many ways you can help your community.

3. Citizens Advice Scotland, external

Providing advice on benefits and employment rights.

4. Business Support, external

The latest advice and support for businesses.

5. Parent Club, external

Useful information on how to cope with home schooling and keeping your family safe.

Image source, NFU Scotland

A renewed plea has been made to the public not to dump garden waste and litter in the Scottish countryside.

It comes afer a number of incidents in the past week including one where a calf choked to death on a crisp bag.

NFU Scotland's animal health and welfare policy manager Penny Middleton said it was disappointing to see people use the countryside as a "giant tip".

She said waste of any kind could be "extremely dangerous" and urged people to store it until lockdown was over.

General Sir Nicholas Carter says "humility" has been the military's "watchword" while providing that support to "heroic" front-line workers.

The military has been helping in the distribution of protective kit to frontline services, delivering mobile testing labs and building emergency field hospitals.

The head of the UK's armed forces - speaking at his first Downing Street briefing - says dozens of military experts have been providing support to local organisations and their work has helped the NHS get deliveries to about 50,000 locations.

He says that the operation to support the NHS has been "the single greatest logistical challenge" that he's come across in a 40-year career.