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MSP Alison Johnstone pressed Ms Freeman on why thousands of tests are going unused in Scotland.

She said that according to Unison, care home staff are "terrified" of passing on the virus to residents and more testing could set minds at ease.

Ms Freeman said that it was not known 140 days ago that asymptomatic people could "shed" the virus, which is known now.

She added: "Our approach has to be evolutionary as our understanding of the virus is evolutionary.

"We change our strategy as we go, I am not ruling out the regular testing of health and social care staff.

"The advice that we receive is that is exactly the right thing to do, more than we are doing at the moment."

Ms Freeman is due to hold discussions with Unison this week.

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One of the early questions to Health Secretary Jeane Freeman comes from Scottish Green co-leader Alison Johnstone who asks about a study which concluded that weekly testing is the only way to prevent coronavirus getting into care homes.

Ms Johnstone asked if the Scottish government accepted the conclusion of the study - led by one of Scotland's leading professors of microbiology Hugh Pennington - and if so, why the country's testing levels are still below capacity.

Ms Freeman responded that Prof Pennington was "absolutely correct" and this was why the government had issued advice on 13 March to confine care home residents to their rooms among other measures.

She said: "What I have to point out that unlike our NHS that our care homes have 70% private providers, around about 20% are independent, and 10% are local authority.

"Our capacity to intervene directly is limited although we have taken on much more of that through the instruction to directors of public health."

She added this sort of intervention "may indeed come" through emergency legislation.

Derek Healey, from The Courier, wonders what the first minister thinks of the findings from experts at Dundee University, who have published research that suggests a return to normal life would be almost impossible without a vaccine

It indicates that activity would be limited to 10% of pre-lockdown levels and that exit strategies must move on from rapidly returning to normal.

Nicola Sturgeon says she has not read the particular piece of research but thinks it sounds in line with what the Scottish government has been saying as it is about "learning to live with the virus that restores a degree of normality".

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Image source, Getty Images

MSPs will ask about:

• testing for Covid-19 in care homes
• the impact of the pandemic on the mental and physical health of older people
• the fate of £155m Barnett consequentials and when councils will get the cash
• the testing of asymptomatic people in the community as part of TTI
• recycling being essential during the crisis

You can watch topical questions here on the live page by clicking on the play icon on Scottish Parliament: Covid-19 Business 5 May 2020 at the top of the page.

Image source, bbc

The Scottish government has set out options for lifting the coronavirus lockdown - but has warned that "extreme caution" will have to be exercised.

Strict social distancing restrictions are due to be reviewed on Thursday, but significant changes are unlikely.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has set out a new paper of options ranging from gradually re-opening schools to letting people gather in larger groups.

Ministers are also seeking ideas from the public about how to ease lockdown.

The new paper, external says the current restrictions will not change "until it is safe to do so". It warns that there are still approximately 26,000 infectious people in Scotland, with the number "much too high at present to consider the virus under control".

It also warns that re-opening schools fully at this point would likely see a new spike in infections which would overwhelm the NHS within two months.

Read more here

Scott McNabb, from The Scotsman, points out that the first minister alluded to those who are home working at the moment being asked to continue with that for quite some time and wonders if that could even be until the end of the year.

Nicola Sturgeon points out it is going to be a gradual journey to "a new normal" and that she cannot give a timescale of what restrictions will still be in place until such time as a vaccine is found.

Image source, Getty Images

The first minister says people in the shielded category have more strict guidelines than for those over 70 in general.

“It is not the case that all over-70s have to completely isolate, in the same way that the shielded category do.”

The fairness of introducing bubbles must be considered before they are introduced, she says.

She insists no-one wants a two-tiered society and she says she wants to move forward as far as we can as one society.

The first minister is asked how large a “bubble” of people we can meet outside might be, but she says she won’t say much more about that today.

Ms Sturgeon points out it is “superficially attractive” to introduce bubbles so we can see our friends and family, but you don’t have to think for too long to see the complexities that need to be worked through.

The BBC's Sarah Smith points out that the UK government has not yet been as forthcoming about the measures that could be taken to ease the lockdown and wonders if these were the kind of steps Westminster is pondering, but not yet discussing publicly.

Nicola Sturgeon suggests that the UK government, along with those in Wales and Northern Ireland, will be considering such options, while there were governments in other parts of the world already introducing them, as "we are all dealing with the same challenge as looking at the same routes out of it".

She says there will be further "four-nations" discussions later this week.

Image source, Alister Jack's

Asked about Scottish Secretary Alister Jack's comments about the whole of the UK exiting lockdown in "lock-step", external, Nicola Sturgeon says suppressing the virus is the starting point for any decision.

The first minister says this means that choosing whether Scotland exits lockdown at the same time as the rest of the UK, or at a slightly different pace, will flow from this.

Image source, Getty Images

James Matthews, from Sky, asks about the estimated R number in Scotland being higher than elsewhere in the UK and wonders why that might be and also why it is higher in care homes than in the general community.

The first minister reckons the R number in care homes will still be above one but points out that about half of Scotland's care homes have not had an infection. She says the prevalence of Covid-19 in care homes is a global problem, not one just for Scotland.

As for Scotland's higher R number, Ms Sturgeon urges caution about the statistics but suggests it might be because the country is at a slightly different stage of the infection curve as the first cases were identified later than those in England.

Image source, Whitbread

In reference to social media posts showing long queues of traffic outside the Costa Coffee drive-thru at Braehead on Saturday, the first minister questions if this was a necessary journey.

Image source, Getty Images

Ewan Petrie, from STV, asks for clarification about the position of businesses where social distancing is not an option, such as hairdressers and beauticians, and what circumstances would have to be in place for them before they can reopen?

Nicola Sturgeon says the Scottish government is holding discussions with industry groups and trade unions about those businesses where social distancing is possible and where appropriate PPE might be possible, such as hairdressers.

Those could be among the first to be allowed to go back to work if home working is not possible.

However, she points out that, while preparations are going on, the battle against Covid-19 was not yet at a stage to ease those restrictions.

Interim chief medical officer Dr Gregor Smith says while there are encouraging signs the rate of infection and number of cases is going in the right direction, restrictions "remain necessary".

The virus preys on the most vulnerable people in our communities and it can spread easily and readily when we come into close contact with those that have it, he says.

Image source, First minister

On schools the first minister says vulnerable children could be brought back first and will be a mixture of time at school and time at home.

She points out physical distancing and deep-cleaning of schools must be facilitated by this.

"We will not compromise the safety of your children."

Ms Sturgeon says: "Lifting the lockdown will not be like flicking a switch.

"It will be a gradual process that happens in phases

"What we are seeking to do is find a path to a new normal."

The first minister pledges to attach dates to all of this as soon as possible.

"We really are at a critical stage," points out Ms Sturgeon calling on everyone to stick to the restrictions currently in place.

Image source, Getty Images

Lisa Summers, from BBC Scotland, points out that the first minister wants to see sustained evidence that the R number is below one and asks how long she will want it to be like that before she will feel confident about lifting restrictions, particularly in schools?

Nicola Sturgeon replies that she cannot put a timescale on it but stresses that her decision will be based on the evidence as it develops and that experts will advise her based on the available data.

As for schools, she says that the Scottish government is looking at a number of options, including certain year groups going back ahead of others, once the lockdown can be eased.

"We need to configure schools in ways that allows more social distancing between pupils," she says, pointing out that this is more difficult in younger children.