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The number of suspected coronavirus deaths at a care home in Renfrewshire has doubled to 22.

It had emerged on 15 April that 11 residents had died at Elderslie care home in Paisley.

Operator Advinia confirmed a further 11 people have died since then at the 120-room home.

It has also emerged that a number of residents at a home in Edinburgh have died after contracting Covid-19.

City of Edinburgh Council, which runs Jewel House in Bingham, has not confirmed the number of deaths. However, the Scottish Sun reported that nine residents had died, external.

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NHS doctors have been warned to look out for a rare but dangerous reaction in children that may be linked to coronavirus infection.

An urgent alert , externalsent out to GPs said that intensive care departments in London and other parts of the UK have been treating severely sick children with unusual symptoms.

This includes "multi-system inflammation" with flu-like symptoms.

Some, but not all, tested positive for coronavirus.

It is unclear how many children have been diagnosed with the new syndrome, although the numbers will be low.

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An academic who has been critical of government responses to the coronavirus outbreak is to appear before a Holyrood committee.

Professor Hugh Pennington will address MSPs on the health and sport committee, which is due to meet virtually for the first time on Tuesday.

Speaking to The Sunday Express, the University of Aberdeen emeritus professor of microbiology accused politicians of hiding behind claims to be "following the science" to avoid blame for missteps during the pandemic.

The committee will spend the coming weeks analysing the Scottish government's approach to Covid-19, including the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE), testing strategies, the impact on care homes and the management of a possible second wave of the virus.

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One country that's been in the news for doing more than just "flattening" the curve is New Zealand.

It says it has stopped community transmission, and with just one case reported on Sunday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the virus was "currently" eliminated.

Fewer than 1,500 people have been infected among New Zealand's nearly five million population - and only 19 have died.

So how did New Zealand get to where it is now? Some experts point to it making an earlier start. Ardern announced strict lockdown measures in March - when only about 100 people had tested positive and no one had yet died.

The country's geography has also played a role in its success. A relatively small country, New Zealand has more control over who can come in than a larger country with more porous borders.

But many experts have attributed its main success to the clarity of the message coming from the government. Unlike nations that declared "war on Covid-19", the New Zealand government message was that of a country coming together. It urged people to "Unite Against Covid-19". Ardern has repeatedly called the country "our team of five million".

"Jacinda [Ardern] is a brilliant communicator and an empathetic leader, "Prof Michael Baker from Otago University told the BBC.

A software firm is to start a trial that aims to find volunteers for the care sector, after securing funding.

SureCert, which has offices in Edinburgh, Belfast and London, uses a digital platform to connect people with jobs and voluntary roles and to manage background checks.

It has been awarded funds from NHSX - a joint NHS and Department of Health and Social Care unit - to further develop its technology.

SureCert said it was already collaborating with Scottish Care and Care England on the trial.

Chief executive Ian Savage said: “Avoiding contact with others is incredibly important at present.

"Our technology has the ability to help us meet the current challenges by matching people with employment and volunteering openings."

BBC Scotland director Donalda MacKinnon is to delay her departure from the corporation until the end of the year.

In February, Ms MacKinnon announced that she would be leaving her post in the autumn.

But in an email to staff, Ken MacQuarrie, director of Nations & Regions, confirmed that she had agreed to stay on.

Mr MacQuarrie wrote: "Since then the Covid-19 pandemic has presented the BBC with considerable challenges, editorially, operationally and financially.

"As we navigate this period of unprecedented change, leadership within Nations and Regions has never been more important.

"So for this reason I’ve requested and we've agreed a delay in Donalda’s departure from the BBC until the end of 2020."

He added that the process of appointing her successor would continue but added that it may take longer than planned "due to the circumstances we find ourselves in".

• A further 13 deaths have been registered of people who had tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total to 1,262
• A total of 1,762 people are in hospital being treated for the virus, with 134 of them in intensive care
• Mnisters will join a minute’s silence at 11am tomorrow to honour health and care workers who have lost their lives
• The first minister says "real progress" has been made, with hospital admissions stable and the number of patients in intensive care falling
• She says we must "stay the course" with the coronavirus lockdown

• However, she said even a slight lifting of restrictions could put this at risk
• Businesses should only contemplate reopening if they can comply with social distancing guidance

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• FM says now is "certainly not a time to throw caution to the wind"
• She will say more over the next few days about the different options being considered to ease the lockdown
• The Scottish government is hoping to issue guidance on face coverings tomorrow
• The health secretary says GP practices and community pharmacists will remain open over the May bank holiday
• The FM highlights online courses available to all at the My World of Work , externalwebsite

"I won't get dragged into giving definitive answers and specific dates or timescales before we are able to do that confidently," says the first minister in response to The Telegraph asking about the prospect of people enjoying summer holidays.

She says: "I don't want to give people the false expectation that summer holidays will happen as normal this year."

A number of Monday’s Scottish newspapers led with Jeane Freeman’s comments on the BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland programme, where she confirmed the military would be running mobile testing units at Scottish care homes.

However, the health secretary told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme earlier that the units would not initially be visiting care homes.

Asked about this again at the briefing, Ms Freeman explains that testing of care workers and care home residents will largely be carried out through NHS local health protection teams.

She adds that where testing needs to be increased because a care home is in a particular area and a mobile unit is nearby, that is the unit that will be used.

"My preference for a clear message is as much consistency as possible," says the first minister when asked by The Sun about the possibility of lockdown being eased at different times in different regions of Scotland.

Dr Gregor Smith, interim chief medical officer explains that there is still "a little bit of uncertainty" over the R-number (the average number of people that one sick person goes on to infect), adding that he would be cautious about breaking down such data on a regional basis.

Severin Carrell of The Guardian asks whether Scotland's chief scientific adviser and chief medical officer should have a full role in Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies).

Ms Sturgeon says the chairman of the Scottish advisory group, Prof Andrew Morris, participates fully in Sage which helps to deal with the deficiency she felt existed at the outset.

She explains that the Scottish group exists to ensure what comes out of Sage is properly interpreted for the Scottish context. It was not to be critical of Sage but to ensure we built on it, she adds.

Alan Smith from Bauer asks if routine testing of frontline workers could be introduced.

Ms Sturgeon highlights that testing has been expanded and Dr Smith adds that tests must provide useful information, either in terms of the individual or for population knowledge.

We are looking to increase the range of testing to allow us to measure differences in the population, he adds.

Katrine Bussey from the PA also raises the question of tests, asking how the 3,500 capacity will be filled.

The first minister says more information on this will be made available this week. She imagines the 3,500 tests a day target will be exceeded.

We will look to report how many tests are being done in Scotland through the various routes in the coming days, she adds.

The health secretary explains that pursuing the "test, trace, isolate" strategy will make use of additional capacity.

Image source, Reuters

Alan Zycinski from Global asks if Ms Sturgeon has spoken to the prime minister recently.

He also asks about the importance of transparency around the science that is being relied apon by governments.

The first minister replies that without the best science informing your decisions you end up at a podium saying you should inject disinfectant.

US President Donald Trump has been lambasted by the medical community after suggesting research into whether coronavirus might be treated by injecting disinfectant into the body.

Ms Sturgeon says she has not spoken to Boris Johnson yet since he returned to work this morning, adding that she is sure there will be conversations in the days ahead.

The four nations will continue to co-operate and collaborate through Cobra and opposition parties must be a part of that, she says.

Peter MacMahon from ITV Border asks about comments made by the first minister about a border, asking if she meant a border between Scotland and England.

The first minister says that yesterday she was talking about external international borders.

She says you would really have to twist what she said to get to some of the headlines we saw today.

Ms Sturgeon adds that she will not play ball with people trying to twist her words to make a political point, as people are still dying.

Peter Smith from ITV News asks about the government’s view of immunity to the virus and the prevalence of coronavirus illnesses in children.

The first minister says there is no certainty yet if this virus confers immunity if you have had it.

Dr Gregor Smith says we are constantly learning about how this new virus behaves, which is helped by getting better tests.

The interim chief medical officer says there are early case reports about children with Covid-19 complications, pointing out that we need to wait to see the evidence emerge more fully.

It is a very small number of children, he stresses.

The first minister says she hopes the Scottish government will issue guidance on the use of face masks on Tuesday, when asked about possible mixed messages by Ross Govans of STV.

She says the evidence of the efficacy of the public wearing face coverings is "inconclusive" but adds that "it may be a benefit in certain circumstances".

The first minister makes it clear that the wearing of face coverings should most definitely not be "a substitute for following the rest of the rules".