Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

Digital expert Michael Veale told Drivetime that given Scotland's healthcare system is devolved, it could choose to work in a different way to the UK's contact tracing app.

He said apps are not a replacement to manual contact tracing - "they are a compliment".

The UK's app is designed to catch the sort of people who are "unknown" for whatever reason, he said - for example, someone who sat behind you on the bus or someone you couldn't remember the name of.

Image source, NHS Tayside

A new transport service has been launched by NHS Tayside to help patients attend routine appointments or Covid-19 assessment hubs.

Car dealer Arnold Clark has donated 15 vehicles to the health board, all of which have been fitted with partitions to ensure driver safety.

PPE has also been provided for drivers, who are redeployed NHS staff.

The new service is running 8am to 8pm every day and is hoped to alleviate pressure on the Scottish Ambulance Service.

NHS Tayside's associate director for improvement, Tracey Williams, said: “We have been able to offer this service to those who need our support thanks to some very generous local companies and we are very grateful to all of them for their donations. It really is making a positive difference for our patients.”

Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

Mr Veale also told Drivetime the option of using a "self reporting" model - enabling people to upload their own results or symptoms - was a "worry".

He said: "The epidemiologists we have worked with have not recommended self reporting.

"It opens up many different kinds of security problems in the app because you don't know if what you're receiving is a real alert or a fake alert.

"People could even select particular targets they wanted to put into isolation. Good and fast testing is the way to make a trusted app work."

Image source, Getty Images

The UK is getting ready to roll out a contact tracing app in order to track down people who have been in contact with coronavirus.

However tracing expert Michael Veale, a lecturer in digital rights and regulation at University College London, says the UK's "centralised approach" to may prompt a "lack of trust".

He said the UK's system allows people to give risk scores based on what data their phone picks up, which results in an "unnecessary centralisation of data".

The system is different to those launched in other countries, meaning there could also be a "lack of interoperability", he said.

Image source, bbc

Scotland's Clinical Director Professor Jason Leitch is on Drivetime with John Beattie in a few moments.

Prof Leitch will be explaining the Scottish government's new Test, Trace, Isolate and Support strategy, external.

The Scottish government hopes to have a testing and tracing system to suppress coronavirus in place by the end of May.

Testing for the virus has already been ramped up across the UK as laboratory capacity has increased.

The UK government will give its Monday daily briefing at 17:00 BST (16:00 GMT).

The briefing will be led by Health Secretary Matt Hancock and England's deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van Tam.

You can listen here on the BBC Scotland live page with Drivetime or follow updates here.

Paul O'Hare
BBC Scotland News

The company behind Scotland's largest mass participation event has launched a new solo challenge to raise money for the NHS.

The Great Run company, which organisers the Great Scottish Run weekend in Glasgow, has created four virtual races.

Participants must log their runs on a tracking app, such as Strava.

Each challenge can be entered online, external, costs a minimum of £10 and is rewarded with a medal.

All proceeds will go to the NHS Charities Together, external Covid-19 urgent appeal.

The Great Scottish Run, external weekend features a 100m toddler dash, junior 2.5k and the one mile family run in George Square.

Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

• Test Trace Isolate or TTI looks set to become a new mantra across Scotland - Nicola Sturgeon has unveiled the tracking strategy to help us out of lockdown, though not this week
• As deaths in Scotland rise to 1,576, Drivetime will hear from the man advising the UK government on the mobile phone app which will be used to digitally track those infected
• The programme will hear the latest from the Skye care home where 56 residents and staff have tested positive for the virus and one resident has sadly died
• small businesses race to access a new UK government loans scheme
• and as ever analysis of all the other newslines from the Scottish government briefing and live coverage of the UK counterpart from 5pm

Image source, Getty Images

An Inverclyde councillor has called for urgent funding to tackle the high number of deaths in the "coronavirus capital" of Scotland.

SNP councillor Chris McEleny linked the high death rate to the fact it was the most deprived area in the country, according to recent research.

He said increased levels of testing in the community was needed.

The Scottish government said it was committed to tackling poverty and inequalities.

Data published by the National Records of Scotland, external show there have been 93 deaths from Covid-19 in Inverclyde, a death rate of about 12 people per 10,000.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

Nearly half of people in Britain said they experienced "high anxiety" as the country went into lockdown, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) says.

Anxiety levels were highest among an estimated 8.6 million people whose income fell, according to the weekly survey on the impact of coronavirus.

Renters and the self-employed were also particularly affected.

The survey suggested that more than 25 million people rated their anxiety as "high", more than double the amount who did so at the end of 2019.

Read more.

Image source, Getty Images

The Scottish government hopes to have a testing and tracing system to suppress coronavirus in place by the end of May.

Testing for the virus has already been ramped up across the UK as laboratory capacity has increased.

Now a new paper, external has set out how the Scottish government plans to use this to suppress Covid-19 when lockdown restrictions start to be eased.

Thousands of contact tracing staff are to be taken on, and new digital tools including an app are being developed.

Read more here.

Image source, Shutterstock

Love Island will not broadcast a summer series this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The reality show will instead return in 2021, ITV confirmed.

Kevin Lygo, director of television at ITV, said: "We have tried every which way to make Love Island this summer.

"But logisitically it's just not possible to produce it in a way that safeguards the wellbeing of everyone involved and that for us is the priority."

Read more here.

Jamie McIvor
BBC Scotland education correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Scottish universities are warning they could lose more than £500m between them next year due to the coronavirus crisis.

It is feared the pandemic will result in a massive drop in the number of students from outside Europe, who pay large tuition fees.

And the sector has warned it needs support from Westminster and Holyrood.

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said the UK government was working to provide as much stability as possible.

Read more here.

• FM hopes to have a test, trace, isolate system to suppress coronavirus in place by the end of May
• Scottish government strategy Test, Trace, Isolate, Support , externalis published
• 2,000 contact tracing staff are to be taken on and new digital tools including an app are being developed
• 15,500 tests per day will be needed to pursue the strategy
• How will this strategy work? Click here to find out

Image source, bbc

• the TTI strategy will only work alongside other virus suppression measures and will require public support and confidence in the app
• people will have to be prepared to self-isolate for 14 days if it confirms they have been in contact with someone with Covid-19

• FM says it was "very likely that on Thursday I'll be asking you to stick with lockdown for a bit longer"
• A further five deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19 takes the total to 1,576 - although wider figures covering suspected cases have suggested the death toll is far higher