Mr Harvie welcomes the emphasis being put on human contact tracers in the TTI strategy.

The Scottish Green Party co-leader says he is unclear about the timescale for the recruitment and deployment of the 2,000 contact tracers and calls for detail.

He asks what measures will be in place to support those for whom isolation will pose difficulties, for example those with family responsibilities, disabilities or complex health needs?

The first minister pledges to set out more detail on this, adding that work is under way to recruit and train the contact tracers.

A Public Health Scotland advert will go live on Friday to help recruit the necessary contact tracers, Ms Sturgeon adds.

Scottish Green Party co-leader Patrick Harvie expresses his party’s deep sadness that the UK now has the largest number of Covid deaths in Europe.

Mr Harvie says some people are actively agitating to end the “life-saving” restrictions, but he urges the Scottish government to continue to put public health first.

He pivots to the TTI strategy and says from a capacity of over 10,000 tests, just over 4,000 were used. He says that it seems well over three-quarters of our testing capacity has been "sitting idle" since the beginning of this month.

When will we get close to using our full capacity?

The first minister points out that test capacity on Friday was 8,350, and that 6,350 tests were done yesterday, so over 70% of capacity was used.

Ms Sturgeon says the Scottish government is working to make sure the capacity is used as much as possible and to build it to 15,500 for the TTI strategy.

Image source, Getty Images

The Scottish Labour leader says care workers are putting themselves at risk and many of them are among Scotland’s lowest paid workers. The recent death-in-service payment announcement does not apply to care workers, he highlights.

Mr Leonard backs a pay rise for workers and for families to receive death-in-service payments.

Ms Sturgeon says the reason the announcement on death-in-service payments does not apply to care staff is because they are not directly employed by the government like NHS workers are. That does not mean we are not working in other ways to address the issue, she adds.

We are working in partnership with trade unions and employers, and care staff should be paid in “more than words” she says.

Image source, Getty Images

Mr Leonard highlights 59% of deaths last week were of people in care homes. For weeks, relatives have not visited loved ones to keep them safe, but that has not happened, he says.

He says all residents and all staff must be tested, not just those who are symptomatic.

The first minister says she is “deeply concerned” about care homes, but she highlights there has been a reduction in the number of deaths.

Testing is in place for all residents and staff where there is an outbreak, she confirms.

But she adds that while testing is important, it is not the only thing that matters as infection prevention and control remains most important.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard welcomes plans to reintroduce a test, trace and isolate (TTI) strategy, though he suggests it could be rolled out earlier than the end of May.

He asks what the R number is in care homes.

Ms Sturgeon says we don't have the ability yet to give a range for the R number in care homes, though we believe it is above one, she adds.

But she does not believe it would be as high as 10.

The first minister says work is ongoing to understand what is happening in care homes, hospitals and other institutions.

On TTI, she explains that capacity is being built over the course of this month but contract tracing has already started in some areas.

Image source, Getty Images

Jackson Carlaw says mixed messages will not help and the priority is to save lives.

He says construction firms are asking why a building site in Carlisle keep going safely, but not one in Dumfries.

The Scottish Conservative leader reiterates: "Simplicity saves lives."

The first minister says some people have a lot more angst about the UK-wide approach than she does.

She says the problem may be others are not following Scotland's guidance and says she is not absolutely satisfied construction is safe.

The Scottish Conservative leader says "clarity of message is crucial" and simplicity saves lives.

Jackson Carlaw calls for future guidance to be simple and consistent across the UK and agreed by all administrations.

"In broad terms, yes I do agree with that," replies Ms Sturgeon, accepting the need for clarity and simplicity.

She says the public are responding in "magnificent way" to the lockdown.

But the four-nation approach must take account of the evidence in each part of the UK, Ms Sturgeon insists.

Image source, Getty Images

Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw says getting the R Number down is the priority, but testing numbers are still short of last week's target and he expresses skepticism about the recruitment of 2,000 contact tracers.

The first minister says getting the R Number down will be achieved by everyone behaving in a way that suppresses the virus and sticking to the current lockdown restrictions.

She explains that keeping the R Number suppressed will partly depend on continued social distancing and the ability to quickly identify outbreaks via testing.

There were over 4,600 tests carried out in Scotland yesterday, she says and that will increase.

The first minister tells the chamber 2,000 additional contact tracers is the best estimate of how many people will be needed.

For the TTI strategy around 15,500 tests capacity will be required a day by the end of May.

The first minister says we have to accept the different stages of the infection in different parts of the country.

Ms Sturgeon points out that what we can't have is any part of the UK forced into a position where they are forced into lifting restrictions, before the evidence says it is safe to do so.

Jackson Carlaw says the government has said the R Number would have to be less than one for a sustained period.

The Scottish Conservative leader asks what does a meaningfully different R Number look like in different areas, for example the North of England?

The first minister says the best estimate for the R Number is between 0.7 and one.

Ms Sturgeon reiterates it might be slightly higher in Scotland than the rest of the UK, although there is a certain degree of uncertainty about that.

That would be because Scotland is behind the curve of the rest of the UK.

She points out we need more confidence the R Number is below one consistently before restrictions can be raised.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirms 12,709 people have tested positive for Covid-19, an increase of 272 from yesterday.

1,632 patients are in hospital with a suspected or confirmed case (down 24), with 89 being treated in intensive care (down 15).

A further 83 people who tested positive have died in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 1,703 deaths in Scotland by that measure.

This is lower than the latest NRS figure of 2,795 published earlier because it only covers those who died after testing positive. The NRS figures take suspected cases into account too.

"In the broader fight against this virus, this week's figures do give us some hope," the first minister says.

However, she emphasises the lockdown restrictions remain in place which ensure further progress.

Image source, bbc

MSPs mark the 75th anniversary of VE day with a minute's silence.

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MSPs will mark the 75th anniversary of VE day with a minute's silence at 12.30pm in the chamber.

Anyone in the Scottish Parliament will be asked to observe a one minute silence to remember and thank those who fought for our freedom.

Scotland's public commemorations of the 75th anniversary of VE day have been replaced with an online service of remembrance and a two-minute silence on Friday 8 May at 11am.

There’s been a drop in the number of coronavirus deaths in Scotland, according to weekly figures from the National Records of Scotland.

The total of all deaths where coronavirus was confirmed or suspected between the 27th of March and the 3rd of May was 523, compared to 658 the week before.

Three quarters of all those who’ve died since the pandemic began were 75 or older. The total number of all deaths in Scotland is 2,795.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle rises to announce the beginning of Prime Minister's Questions.

"The whole House is delighted at his recovery," Sir Lindsay Hoyle says.

"It is good to be back," says Boris Johnson.

"I would like to pay tribute to the 107 NHS and 29 care workers who have sadly died from coronavirus," he adds.

We'll be sticking with First Minister's Questions which begins shortly, however if you want to follow updateds on PMQs, click here.