Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

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Teachers "Tom" and "Linda" tell BBC Radio Scotland they have concerns about the mix of classroom learning and home learning when pupils are now due to return to schools in August.

"We've still been at school remotely, so it will be about going back to the buildings," Tom says. "I'm glad we're going back first so we can discuss this.

"Even with reduced class sizes, it is going to be very difficult. If it's to babysit pupils while their parents are at work, that devalues the role of teachers.

"Socialising is such a big part of school and, if they are looking at infection control and distancing, it will be difficult to do that. Wearing PPE in the classroom would be pretty traumatising for everybody."

Linda adds: "We will need the organisation time to logistically just set things up differently if children are coming in in smaller numbers and, in the background, I'm assuming we will be providing work for children at home."

Education Secretary John Swinney is about to be be interviewed on Radio Scotland, after the first minister said all schools would reopen from 11 August using a "blended model".

Scottish schools have been asked to start preparing for the return of pupils in the autumn.

This would involve part-time study in school combined with some learning at home.

Read more here.

Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, Getty Images

Scotland's route map out of the lockdown includes the opening of garden centres and recycling centres.

George Goulding, who runs a garden centre in the Clyde Valley, tells BBC Scotland it comes at a crucial time of the year for the industry, saying: "The big sheds, like B&Q and Homebase, and supermarkets have been open and selling plants, so we feel we have been let down a bit.

"We've been using click and collect to get rid of our seasonal plants We are going to restrict the number allowed into our centre. We will put trolleys outside our garden centre and, once they are gone, they are gone and they'll just need to queue to get in. It's limited staff and we're not allowed to interact with the customers."

Keep Scotland Beautiful's Paul Wallace is delighted that waste and recycling centres will be available again, suggesting that the public will have seen the rise in fly-tipping, littering and dog fouling.

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We're expecting the daily UK government press conference in just under ten minutes

It's being led by UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who'll be joined by Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, and Prof John Newton, who co-ordinates the national testing effort.

Expect more details on the deal made by the government to acquire antibody tests, which say if someone has already had coronavirus, and questions about a surcharge paid by foreign users of the NHS, which has become a political hot topic.

You can follow live updates here.

Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, Getty Images

Brora Golf Club president Andy Stewart tells John Beattie: "I think most golf courses will be able to cope with it fairly straightforward. The week before lockdown, we were playing but socially distancing and had already dealt with many of the challenges. It seems like everybody's been on golf courses in the last eight weeks apart from golfers."

Glasgow tennis coach Julie Gordon adds: "I am still waiting to hear the details, but I am hearing there is a possibility we might not be able to do one-to-one coaching, which I think is very strange because singles is going to be allowed and one-to-one coaching in England."

Scottish Golf and Tennis Scotland have welcomed today's revised guidance for exercise that will allow more outdoor activities including bowls and fishing.

Pointing out it had "positives discussions with the Scottish government, sportscotland and the governing bodies for tennis and bowls", Scottish Golf said it would issue guidance on preparing facilities "as soon as practically possible".

Tennis Scotland says that, with support by the Lawn Tennis Association, it has been developing guidelines that will "allow clubs and players to prepare for getting back on court safely".

Ahead of the government statement, Bowls Scotland chair Sue Beatt pointed out that, although it was in the final stages of creating its guidance to ensure a safe return for the sport, "not every club or every player will want to return in this first phase" and that they would "have the freedom to decide when the time is right for them to return".

She added that a club crisis fund, with a total pot of £50,000, was available to aid clubs most in need of financial support.

Lockdown restrictions in Scotland are likely to be relaxed slightly from 28 May, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed.

Ms Sturgeon made the announcement as she unveiled a four-phase "route map" aimed at restarting society while suppressing the virus.

The first phase will include allowing people to meet outside with people from one other household.

Schools will not reopen until the new school year begins on 11 August.

But the first minister said children will return to a "blended model" where they will do a mix of school and home learning.

Teachers will return to work in June, with transition support being given, where possible, to children going into Primary 1 or moving from primary to secondary schools.

Read more here.

Education Secretary John Swinney will be on Drivetime with John Beattie after 5pm.

Lisa Summers
BBC Scotland Health Correspondent

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Shutting down NHS services is much easier than restarting them.

I have been speaking to doctors who were not called onto the Covid frontline. They are desperate to get back to doing routine work.

But operating theatres have been converted to temporary intensive care units and their theatre staff redeployed. It will take time for staffing levels to return to a level where things can safely resume.

This roadmap publsihed by the first minister today gives us insight into the issues the NHS faces in the new Covid world. How many patients can you see with social distancing in place? How many diagnostic tests can be done with deep cleaning required after procedures? And, looming over all this, the risk of a “second wave” of infections this winter.

The emergency might be nearing an end. But, as we look to ease lockdown, arguably the biggest challenge for the NHS is to come.

People living in seaside resorts in England have said they are "horrified" by the influx of visitors as temperatures soared ahead of the bank holiday weekend.

Thousands of people have headed to English beaches, many apparently unconcerned about public health issues.

"Hundreds die every day yet people think it's OK to have a jolly on the beach," a walker in Southend said.

Norfolk Chief Constable Simon Bailey said he feared there was a perception that lockdown was "done and dusted".

Read more here.

Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, Getty Images

Education Secretary John Swinney will be taking questions from listeners at 17:00 BST as BBC Radio Scotland examines the Scottish government's proposed four-phase road map to ease the lockdown.

On the day when the government's website crashed as the public tried to access the information, Drivetime, which has just started, will speak to two teachers who have concerns about the announcement that children will not return to school until August - and even then it will be a combination of classroom and home learning.

Host John Beattie will also speak to those involved in the first phase of the lockdown. It's good news for golfers, tennis players, bowlers, hillwalkers, sunbathers and those who run garden centres.

Holyrood Live
BBC Parliaments

Labour MSP Neil Bibby asks about the health secretary authorising the purchase of 50 beds to move untested patients into ten care homes in Inverclyde, how many of these homes have experienced a subsequent outbreak and how many deaths there have been?

The health secretary confirms 50 beds were authorised in Inverclyde following estimates from the health and social care partnership that these were required to meet anticipated demand. She says 40 of these have since been taken up across eight care homes.

Ms Freeman says in the 14 care homes in Inverclyde there have been a total of 35 deaths, though she is unable to say yet how many of these were in the eight which received hospital patients. She adds three care home staff have tested positive in the area.

Mr Bibby highlights a report in The Sun which claimed 921 patients were discharged from hospital to care homes, external before mandatory testing was in place. He asks whether these homes went on to experience an outbreak and how many residents or staff become ill, tested positive or died?

The health secretary says she will look to publish as much data as possible on this, but she warns it may not be appropriate to name particular care homes where only one patient was discharged to as this could lead to identification.

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The Covid-19 Committee will now take evidence on the Release of Prisoners (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Regulations, external from Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf.

The regulations allow for a limited number of short-term sentenced prisoners - up to 450 - to be considered for release on or after 4 May, to prevent the spread of coronvairus.

Only those who have been sentenced to 18 months or less and have 90 days or less left to serve will be eligible.

Restrictions will also be in place to exclude certain groups of prisoners.

• You can read the committee papers here, external
• You can watch the committee with Scottish Parliament TV here., external

A Labour MSP will now ask about reports the health secretary authorised the purchase of 50 beds to move untested patients into 10 care homes in Inverclyde.

In an urgent questions at Holyrood Neil Bibby will ask Jeane Freeman how many of these homes have experienced a subsequent outbreak of the virus, and how many deaths there have been.

Inverclyde has the highest Covid-19 death rate in Scotland.

Image source, Ness District Salmon Fishery Board

Angling groups have welcomed the Scottish government's decision to relax rules around fishing.

Ness District Salmon Fishery Board in the Highlands said the move would help tackle increased incidents of illegal fishing seen during the lockdown.

Anglers play a part in alerting fishery boards to poaching.

Chris Conroy, of Ness District Salmon Fishery Board, said: “Our anglers have been extremely diligent in obeying the catch and release programme to combat falling salmon numbers and they deserve the opportunity to resume their favourite sport."

As Nicola Sturgeon announced her route map out of lockdown, Scots rushed to read the official document on the Scottish government website.

Reports suggested more than 100,000 people had tried to download it in just a minute.