Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw has called for the R Number to be published every day.

The number, which explains the reproductive rate of the coronavirus, is higher in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK.

Mr Carlaw says the SNP government needs to be more upfront about the science behind the decision to keep lockdown measures in place and publish the R Number regularly to help public understanding.

At this morning's R Number briefing from the Scottish government, it emerged that before the lockdown, the R Number was between 4 and 6, meaning every person with Covid-19 was spreading it to up to 6 other people.

But the number fell to between 0.7 and 1 once restrictions were brought into place.

That number is now stable and scientists say it will only fall further if infection and control measures in care homes and hospitals improve, or once immunity has built up in the community.

Scottish government advisers are now modelling the impact of lifting restrictions on the numbers .

What is R? Find out all the answers to your questions about R here.

Alistair Grant from The Herald asks about Scotland having a higher R Number than the rest of the UK.

Ms Sturgeon says the chief statistician will have explained at this morning's briefing that demographics could be a factor, but it could also be we are just behind the infection curve.

The first minister reiterates the R Number is still too close to one to ease restrictions.

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Tom Eden from PA cites reports in The Courier that a fifth of all tests in Scotland are unaccounted for.

Could the process of easing lockdown measures be quicker if the results of these 30,000 tests were known, he ask.

The first minister replies no she does not think that is the case, and adds that there is a slight delay in the results from the UK drive-through labs.

"This will not be an issue in a matter of days."

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Linsey Hanna from Bauer asks about safety measures being put in place for taxi and private hire drivers, for example screens.

Ms Sturgeon says the government is looking at securing safe workplaces for everyone. We will make contact with those representing taxi drivers, she adds.

It follows news that Uber drivers in some countries will have to wear face masks and have screens fitted in their vehicles.

Katie Hunter from BBC Scotland highlights a care home where even symptomatic staff are not being tested.

The first minister says where a care home provider has staff who are symptomatic they should arrange for testing. Where a case is confirmed in a care home, all stuff should be tested, she adds.

Jeane Freeman says all care home providers must understand what is expected of them in terms of testing and the NHS stands ready to help them.

If staff are being discouraged from testing, we want to know about this as quickly as possible so we can step in she says.

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Peter Smith from ITV News asks about the evidence on the definition of a "contact".

He says that currently in the UK, a person is deemed a contact if they have been standing within two metres of an infected person for more than 15 minutes.

However, in places such as South Korea the definition is much wider.

Ms Sturgeon says scientific advice is determining the current approach but acknowledges the advice may change in future.

If evidence suggests otherwise we will adapt our approach, she adds.

Louise Scott from STV asks whether changes at Home Farm are short or long term.

It comes after the Care Inspectorate raised concerns about care at the home following an outbreak of Covid-19 in which seven residents have died.

The health secretary says the NHS will remain engaged with the care home for as long as is needed to ensure effective infection prevention and control measures are in place, and for the correct staff to resident ratio to be maintained.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman says work has begun on looking at what areas of healthcare can be restarted, including cancer screening programmes.

Ms Freeman points out that the NHS needs to retain capacity to deal with Covid-19 cases.

But she acknowledges the harm in delaying non-urgent but important healthcare.

James Matthews from Sky highlights that care provider, Renaissance Care, has mass-tested its staff in eight of its care homes and found a number of staff and residents were positive despite not having symptoms.

Ms Sturgeon says all staff and residents in care homes are being tested regardless of whether they have symptoms if there is a single care of Covid-19 in that home. This is being kept under review, she says.

The first minister adds the test is most reliable when people have symptoms, which is why it is important not to over-rely on testing. We are testing more asymptomatic people but we must be frank about the reliability, she insists.

Peter McMahon from ITV Border says the National Records of Scotland figures published on Wednesday showed lower death rates for the South of Scotland per head than the rest of the country.

Mr McMahon also says the latest R Number, at 0.75, is lower than elsewhere in Scotland.

Should parts of Scotland be able to follow their own course and ease restrictions earlier than in the rest of the country?

However, she adds that the Scottish government are not suggesting this at this stage.

Ms Sturgeon refers to this morning's R Number technical briefing for journalists.

She says the confidence in regional R Numbers is less at a regional level as there is more uncertainty with fewer deaths.

The R Number is still too high to meaningfully ease the lockdown, the first minister adds.

Jeane Freeman confirms that Home Farm care home in Portree will receive additional NHS resources in the form of social care management, nursing leadership and direct care.

The intervention follows an unannounced visit by the Care Inspectorate in the wake of a coronavirus outbreak at the home which has claimed the lives of seven residents.

As the Care Inspectorate has not yet published its report, Ms Freeman said she would not comment further on the specifics. But she adds: "I and the Scottish government strongly support action to ensure that all care homes provide a safe home for residents."

The health secretary confirms revised guidance for care homes will be published by tomorrow to clarify testing requirements for admission and how to deal with active cases.

The first minister concludes by saying people should continue to follow the Scottish government's restrictions and guidance.

"Right now it is still necessary and it is making a difference.

"By staying at home we are slowing the virus, protecting the NHS and saving lives", she says.

This also brings the day closer where Scotland can ease these restrictions, she adds.

The first minister says Skills Development Scotland is providing help through its website My World of Work.

SDS has launched a phoneline and online service which will provide people with access to a range of services in terms of employment or studying.

She says got to the myworldofwork.co.uk or phone 0800 917 8000.

She says the crisis for those shielding is much harder than for the rest of us and she calls on anyone in the group to ask for support when they need it.

"You are not being forgotten about as we think about our next steps in tackling this virus and about how we adapt to living."

Your needs and quality of life remain important in our thinking and you are not being left behind, she says.

The national helpline for people who are shielding is: 0800 111 4000.

It's open every day between 9am and 5pm every weekday.

Image source, Getty Images

The first minister moves on to support for people who are shielding.

That refers to approximately 175,000 people in Scotland who are at the highest clinical risk from the virus. and have been asked to stay at homes at all times.

Nicola Sturgeon says there is support from a text message service for this group which can provide free weekly deliveries of food and toiletries.

More than 50,000 people who are shielding have already signed up for this free delivery service, she adds, pointing out more than quarter of a million free food packages have been delivered.

The first minister also highlights supermarkets prioritising those shielding and she goes on to accept people in this group must be feeling "incredible levels of frustration".

Nicola Sturgeon says increasing testing capacity will be crucial for the Test, Trace, Isolate and Support policy.

The first minister says the testing policy is based on saving lives and protecting the vulnerable.

It is also based on ensuring critical staff can return to work as soon as possible and on monitoring the spread and prevalence of the virus, she says.

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Nicola Sturgeon details testing in Scotland, saying NHS testing is used in hospitals for:

• all intensive care patients
• all patients with symptoms of the virus
• all those admitted to hospital over the age of 70, who are tested every four days
• all patients due to re-enter a care home from hospital, getting two tests if the first is positive before entering the care home
• Enhanced Outbreak Investigation involves testing all care home residents and staff where there is a case
• all NHS and social care workers and their families should be able to get tests
• care home managers can put symptomatic staff forward for testing
• five drive-in centres also provide tests and there are 12 mobile testing units - for any key workers to get a test
• testing capacity is also now used for monitoring purposes

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirms 14,117 people have tested positive for Covid-19, an increase of 188 from yesterday.

1,480 patients are in hospital with a suspected or confirmed case (down 54), with 71 being treated in intensive care (up one).

3,253 people have been discharged from hospital after receiving treatment for the virus since 5 March.

A further 34 people who tested positive have died, taking the total to 2,007 deaths in Scotland by that measure.

The Scottish government has today given further details about the so-called "R" number to journalists off camera - and the impact it's having on coronavirus policy planning.

What is R? It is a simple, but crucial number at the heart of understanding the threat posed by the coronavirus. It is guiding governments around the world on the actions needed to save lives, and it gives us clues to the extent that lockdown can be lifted.

Find out all the answers to your questions about R here.

Nicola Sturgeon has said the R rate here was between 0.7 and one. The rate for the whole of the UK is between 0.5 and 0.9.

If the number is higher than one, then the number of cases begins to increase exponentially.