Earlier in today's Scottish government briefing Charles Fletcher from Caledonia Media asked about community radio stations what support was available to prevent them closing.

The first minister replied she was a big supporter of community radio and said she didn't underestimate the impact of the pandemic on local media more generally.

However, she said she would not make policy sector by sector at these updates.

Ongoing discussions on the provision of support would continue, Ms Sturgeon added.

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Scotland's public commemorations of the 75th anniversary of VE day will now take place online.

Plans for the landmark anniversary have been adapted due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and nationwide lockdown.

The original schedule of events included a parade, a public concert and a reception. Those will be replaced with an online service of remembrance and a two minute silence on 8 May.

The virtual events will now include a video message of thanks from the first minister and a concert in addition to the service and silence.

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A £100 million package of additional grant support for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) and newly self-employed people has just opened.

The three separate funds will be administered by local authorities and Scotland’s enterprise agencies and will begin to pay out grants in early May.

They include:

1. £34m hardship fund for the newly self-employed not eligible to other support and who can apply for grants of £2,000
2. £20m fund for small and micro enterprises in the creative, tourism and hospitality sectors - up to £25,000 in grants
3. £45m for viable SMEs crucial to the Scottish economy which are vulnerable

Find out more here at the find business support website, external.

• FM says next week may be too early for any easing of restrictions in “any meaningful way”
• £100m of business support is just about to open for applications from 2pm
• a further 60 deaths takes the total number of deaths from the daily figure calculation to 1,475
• there is now a total of 11,353 Covid 19 cases

• Scotland's R Number (reproduction number) is below one - but progress is 'fragile'
• £100m of business support will be open for applications from 2pm
• The FM warns of increasing travel on roads and on concessionary travel
• £5m of funding is being provided to Scottish universities and research institutions for 55 coronavirus-related projects
• substantial update on testing in Scotland due tomorrow

A new £100m grant support package for smaller businesses and newly self-employed people is opening for applications.

The three separate funds will be administered by local authorities and Scotland’s enterprise agencies and will begin to pay out in early May, according to the Scottish government.

They include a £34m "hardship fund" for the newly self-employed, a £20m fund for small and micro enterprises in the creative, tourism and hospitality sectors.

Up to £45m is also available for "viable SMEs (small and medium enterprises) crucial to the Scottish economy which are vulnerable".

The Scottish government said it aimed to relieve the hardship of small firms that were ineligible for other forms of support.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Scotland welcomed the move, but urged ministers to "look into specific help" for home-based and vehicle-based operators.

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Gina Davidson from The Scotsman points to concerns about "impossible demands" from the SQA and whether teachers will be able to make correct judgements on passing and failing pupils in lieu of exams.

Ms Sturgeon says she is confident in the judgement of teachers and there will be a degree of moderation.

She appreciates not having exams is not ideal, but young people must get the credit for all the work they have done this year. The SQA have set out the process and the FM expressed confidence in it.

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Libby Brooks from The Guardian asks about single parents being barred entry from supermarkets after bringing their children.

The Children’s Commissioner for Scotland has written to supermarkets, external to ask guidance be given to staff.

No single parent should be made to feel uncomfortable if they are having to bring their child with them to the supermarket, replies the first minister.

Ideally it would be better if children weren't in supermarkets but we understand for some people it is not an option, she adds.

The first minister says if we allow this virus to run out of control again, she will be making announcements for even longer with even "grimmer" statistics.

"I want to start the process of getting back to normal as quickly as we can," she says.

Asked about bringing in more measures to stop people flouting the regulations, Ms Sturgeon replies: "I'm not standing here with that intention right now."

She adds: "There is light at the end of tunnel."

"If we stick with it, the light becomes brighter," she says, warning it will be extinguished if people begin breaking lockdown.

Dr Smith adds that small changes in behaviour will have a tremendous impact on the transmission rate and cause things to go in the wrong direction again.

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Peter McMahon from ITV Borders asks about the threat of financial collapse of building firms and why it is not possible to get builders back to work.

Many construction firms in Scotland face the prospect of financial collapse within months unless the lockdown can be eased, according to the Federation of Master Builders.

All but essential construction sites in Scotland have been closed for more than five weeks since the coronavirus restrictions were introduced.

From next week, three of the UK's biggest housebuilders will reopen their sites in England.

The first minister says the issue is continually under review. However, she adds that by 7 May it is unlikely that it will be possible to lift any of these restrictions.

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Jim Matthews from Sky asks if anyone has been subject to the test, trace and isolate regime yet.

He also asks about the risk of taking people in from the community into care homes, in terms of testing.

The first minister pledges to look into that. On the first part of his question, she says: "We are not yet operating a test, trace isolate approach."

Work on that approach is under way, she points out.

Ross Govans from STV says there are still issues with PPE in private care homes.

He asks if these care homes are still a safe setting for people's loved ones.

The first minister says the government's responsibility, along with care home providers, is to make sure care homes are as safe as they possibly can be.

Ms Sturgeon says no care home should be relying on donations, with the principle responsibility on providing PPE being that of the care home provider with the government topping this up.

If there are any issues with PPE people should contact ministers directly via Covid-19-health-PPE@gov.scot.

The health secretary says a week's worth of supply went to all 1,100 care homes in Scotland last week, as she details Scottish government PPE support.

Jeane Freeman says she speaks to Scottish Care every week and where there are issues, she calls on staff to contact her directly.

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BBC Scotland's Lisa Summers says testing people without symptoms is important to stop the spread of the virus.

Ms Summers says that is now happening for over 75s in hospital.

Will the first minister commit to testing asymptomatic people in places such as care homes and other vital services?.

Ms Sturgeon says tomorrow's update will have a major focus on testing.

She accepts the point on asymptomatic testing is important, but the test is less reliable in the absence of those symptoms, she says.

There will be a substantial update on testing tomorrow, she reiterates.

Interim chief medical officer Dr Gregor Smith highlights almost £5m of funding is being provided to Scottish universities and research institutions for 55 coronavirus-related projects.

These projects will look at a variety of topics ranging from testing and new treatments to the physical and mental health implications of social distancing.

He also points to participation in UK-wide and worldwide efforts on creating a vaccine, treatments and diagnostic tests.

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The first minister pivots to support for business citing three new funds totaling £100m that will open for applications:

The three separate funds will be administered by local authorities and Scotland’s enterprise agencies and will begin to pay out grants in early May.

They include:

1. £34m hardship fund for the newly self-employed not eligible to other support and who can apply for grants of £2,000
2. £20m fund for small and micro enterprises in the creative, tourism and hospitality sectors
3. £45m for viable SMEs crucial to the Scottish economy which are vulnerable

The first minister says application for these funds will be open for 2pm today.

Find out more here, external:

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The first minister warns we are seeing slight increases in people using the roads and concessionary bus travel.

Ms Sturgeon says this is a source of some concern, with concessionary bus travel increasing by a sixth since last week.

Car travel has increased by about 5% compared to last week, up to 10% on some roads, she adds.

The first minister says if you are getting more active ask if your journey was really essential.

The first minister again stresses the importance of sticking to the restrictions and she praises the people of Scotland for doing this and saving lives.

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Ms Sturgeon says the country has worked very hard to bring down transmission rates of the virus.

Fewer people are in intensive care and hospital admissions are on a slowly reducing curve, she says.

The R number is now below one - remember that is the rate of spread of the virus.

Every 100 people with the virus pass it on to fewer than a 100 people, so the total number of cases will decline, if the R number is below one.

She says, however, the R number is not far below one and any easing of the restrictions would quickly send it above one - leading to far more transmission of the virus.