Summary

  • Scots urged to 'stick with' lockdown rules for now

  • The first phase in easing lockdown restrictions in Scotland is likely to be next Thursday

  • 'Path still not clear' for Scottish schools to reopen

  • Chocolate egg 'mountain' needs to be given away

  • NHS Highland investigating new confirmed case of Covid-19 on Skye

  • Health and care workers in Scotland are to be recruited for a vaccine trial

  • Scottish charity that runs bereavement helpline says the pandemic is causing "acute levels of grief"

  1. Scotland considering own regulations on quarantinepublished at 15:46 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    UK arrivals at airportImage source, Getty Images

    The UK government is to give details this afternoon of how people arriving in Britain will have to go into quarantine.

    Anyone failing to isolate for two weeks could face a fine of up to £1,000.

    The measures could come into force at the beginning of June.

    First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says the Scottish government has been involved in the discussions and Scotland would introduce its own regulations.

  2. What will the rules be on visiting parents?published at 15:37 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been setting out how people will be able to meet up when lockdown starts easing.

    Media caption,

    Coronavirus: What will the rules be on visiting parents?

  3. Clap for carers founder suggests end to weekly celebrationpublished at 15:30 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    Annemarie PlasImage source, PA Media

    Annemarie Plas, cited as the person who helped start the weekly clap for carers initiative in the UK, suggests next Thursday's celebration should be the last.

    Speaking on Radio Two's Jeremy Vine show, she said: "Next week will be the tenth time and I think that that would be a beautiful end to the series.

    "Perhaps then we move to maybe an annual moment, because I also feel the mood slowly shifting and other opinions start to rise to the surface. I feel like this has had its moment and after that we can continue to something else."

  4. Back to school with a blended model of learning...but what does that mean?published at 15:20 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    classroomImage source, EPA

    Scottish schoolchildren are set to return to classrooms in August using a "blended model".

    This will involve a mix of ordinary classroom learning, online learning and homework. But how will this work in practice?

    Read more here.

  5. 'Path still not clear' for Scottish schools to reopenpublished at 15:12 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    Pupils sit next to each other at a work stationImage source, Scottish Borders Council

    "The path is still not clear" for pupils to return to school in August, a parents' association has warned.

    It said a "blended learning" approach - where children split time between home and in-school learning - would "fall to bits" if employers and parents were not on board.

    It comes as the EIS teachers' union warned that schools would need time to prepare for August's reopening.

    The Scottish government said it would get schools back as early as was safe.

    Read more here.

  6. Coronavirus outbreak investigated at community hospitalpublished at 15:03 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    hospitalImage source, Google

    An outbreak of coronavirus at the Seafield Hospital in Buckie is being investigated.

    The 32-bed inpatient ward has been closed to new admissions.

    The rest of the hospital is operating as normal.

    NHS Grampian has not said how many cases it is dealing with at the facility.

  7. Trials for coronavirus vaccine to take place in Glasgow and Edinburghpublished at 14:53 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    A total of 850 health and care staff in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lothian areas will be invited to take part in the vaccine project.

    The research is part of the next phase of Oxford University's Covid-19 trials.

    Read more here.

    testingImage source, Getty Images
  8. The main points from today's Scottish government briefingpublished at 14:42 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    Nicola Sturgeon
    • A further 24 people who tested positive for Covid-19 have died, taking the total to 2,245 deaths in Scotland by that measure.
    • More than 100,000 people have viewed the Scottish government's online document on the easing of lockdown measures, which was published on Thursday.
    • People will be free to meet up with more than one other household - but only one at a time - when phase one begins, the first minister confirms.
    • Nicola Sturgeon says people will be asked to "stay fairly local" - with a five-mile limit as a guide - to avoid crowds at tourist hotspots.
    • Scotland is "very close" to reaching its capacity for 15,500 tests a day, says the first minister, while 660 of the targeted 2,000 contact tracers are in place with "around 750" at various stages of the appointment and training process.
    • Two out of almost 300 prisoners released early have reoffended, confirms Chief Constable Iain Livingstone.
    • Nicola Sturgeon says she wishes US President Donald Trump would be "just a little bit more responsible" in the things he says about coronavirus.
    • The range of Scotland's R number is still between 0.7 and 1.0, says Nicola Sturgeon, who thinks the infection rate could still be higher than the rest of the UK.
  9. R number may still be higher than rest of UKpublished at 14:29 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    infection rateImage source, Getty Images

    The range of the R number is still between 0.7 and 1.0 says Nicola Sturgeon, in response to a question from The Herald.

    The first minister thinks that infection rate could still be higher than the rest of the UK but says "we don't have absolute certainty on that".

    It has been below one for three weeks, she adds, explaining that all of the other supplementary factors are also reducing and that is behind the easing of lockdown next week.

    "I still think it would have been wrong to make these decisions two weeks ago," she says.

  10. 'Ultimately it is going to take people doing the right thing'published at 14:25 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    Vivienne Aitken from The Daily Record asks how can mass gatherings in public places - such as the crowds that flocked to Edinburgh’s Portobello beach on Wednesday - be prevented when restrictions are eased?

    Nicola Sturgeon says she felt "a bit frustrated" when she saw the pictures, not because she didn’t understand why people wanted to go to the beach on the hottest day of the year so far, but because she didn't want progress to be put in jeopardy.

    "We just need to take so much care or we will end up back in lockdown for much longer and more people will die," she says.

    PortobelloImage source, Getty Images

    Ms Sturgeon adds that the government will set out the rational basis for what it is doing and provide guidance, but "ultimately it is going to take people doing the right thing, and trying not to do the wrong thing."

    "We will all get it wrong at times but this is all about protecting ourselves and our loved ones," she adds.

    Chief constable Iain Livingstone admits "it was concerning" seeing the "surge of people" at Portobello, but the police judged "very few people were there maliciously or deliberately flouting regulations".

  11. How is a contact defined?published at 14:22 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    How will a contact be defined under the new contact tracing guidelines, the reporter from The National asks.

    The first minister says more information will be set out closer to the time when the test and protect strategy is rolled out across Scotland.

    Somebody that's been within 2m for 15 minutes or more is currently the definition of a contact, the FM says.

    "It won't be just people you randomly pass in the street", Prof Leitch adds.

    Cyclist passing joggerImage source, AFP
  12. No police checks on length of trips for leisurepublished at 14:16 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    Police biker

    The Daily Mail asks if police will be stopping cars to make sure the five-mile trip for leisure guidance is being followed.

    Chief constable Iain Livingstone reckons that would be "disproportionate" and "excessively intrusive", adding that it would harm what are generally good relations with the public and saying that the vast majority have adapted well to the lockdown restrictions.

  13. 'Treatment gives me slightly more hope' - Prof Leitchpublished at 14:07 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    The first minister is asked by the Financial Times if her four-stage plan will work to completion without a vaccine or herd immunity.

    "I don't know for sure," replies Nicola Sturgeon, who says that if a vaccine or effective treatments are found then the whole process speeds up.

    Prof Jason Leitch adds that there are over 200 vaccine trials going on right now across the world, with three of those going to phase two and one in near phase three - human trials. He explains that early trials "usually fail" but is heartened by the global collaboration shown so far.

    He says "treatment gives me slightly more hope" since there are so many trials going on.

    The aim at the moment, he explains, is to suppress the virus to such a low level that tracing and stopping outbreaks will be enough to advise the decision makers to do things differently.

    Testing centreImage source, PA Media
  14. Sturgeon: Trump should be 'more responsible'published at 14:04 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    TrumpImage source, AFP/Getty Images

    Severin Carrell from The Guardian newspaper asks about the news that Boris Johnson could be visiting Donald Trump next week.

    Asked what advice she thinks the PM should give President Trump, the first minister says she wishes the US president would be "just a little bit more responsible" in the things he says about coronavirus.

    "It is so important that leaders give clear advice and messages to people and that we try to base it on the best knowledge, science and information that we've got."

  15. A query about hospital patients with coronavirus...published at 13:54 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    A reporter from The Times asks why figures suggest that hospital admissions were three times higher than positive results for coronavirus before lockdown.

    Prof Leitch says he will get answers on the specifics from Public Health Scotland.

    He says his instinct, though, is that many of these people will have been treated and then tested.

    Many will have had community-acquired coronavirus, but there will be some people who caught the infection in institutions like hospitals.

    He vows to get detailed analysis of the data for the journalist.

    Hospital ward
  16. Two out of almost 300 prisoners released have re-offendedpublished at 13:51 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    Prison interior

    PA Media also asks how many early-release prisoners have been arrested or charged since they have been released as part of measures to help stop the virus spreading.

    Chief Constable Iain Livingstone says that as of yesterday, almost 300 individuals been released early and that "there have only been two who have come to our notice for re-offending".

    "So there have been instances of re-offending, but they have been very low given the numbers involved," he adds.

    “The release of offenders was never without risk, and we have been working very closely with the Scottish Prison Service, the third sector and other agencies to provide support for people and their families."

  17. 'I have confidence people will do the right thing'published at 13:48 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    "As we move gradually from a situation that has strict rules into a more flexible phase, I'm going to be saying 'please use good judgement' more often," says Nicola Sturgeon, in response to a question from The Telegraph.

    She promises to set out "as much detail as we can" before next Thursday's changes to give people a "sense of parameter" but stresses the government cannot legislate for every set of individual circumstances.

    Lockdown has already demonstrated that the public will act responsibly, adds the first minister.

    "If your parents live in Inverness and you live in Glasgow, it's not a case of me telling you not to go, it's about saying what it practically requires to visit them might mean you putting your parents at risk.

    "I have confidence people will do the right thing."

    Holding handsImage source, Getty Images
  18. 'None of this is going to be easy', warns Sturgeonpublished at 13:44 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    Girl using laptopImage source, Getty Images

    PA Media asks the first minister what happens to pupils whose parents have to be at work when schools re-open on 11 August, at a stage when children still won’t be allowed in other relatives’ homes?

    Nicola Sturgeon says the Scottish government is trying to give parents as much clarity as possible, and will communicate with them directly over the summer once the details of the "new model of learning" have been worked out.

    We want to increase the amount of access to hubs that key workers and vulnerable children have already been able to access, she says, so that more children of key workers, or those who have no other options, are able to access that support.

    “None of this is going to be easy in the weeks and months to come, there is no point me trying to pretend otherwise,” adds Ms Sturgeon.

    “But we have worked our way through a lot of difficulties in the last there months and shown we can do things we never believed we could do.”

  19. 'Flexible working more important than ever'published at 13:39 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    Working from homeImage source, Derek Forsyth

    Scott McNab, from The Scotsman, asks about the new normal we'll be going into after lockdown. Will the public sector implement a four day week?, he asks.

    The first minister says she hopes the public sector will "show leadership" on issues such as this.

    She says flexible working is going to be more important than ever.

    "We're still going to be asking people where possible to work from home", as we move through different phases she says.

    "We also need to think 'are there opportunities in here to just change the old ways of doing things and do things better?'", she says.

  20. Will the be more support for tourism and hospitality sectors?published at 13:29 British Summer Time 22 May 2020

    A reporter from Bauer Media asks about support for the hospitality and tourism sector.

    Nicola Sturgeon says there have been "very good" discussions with the sectors, and says tourism is one of the most valued sectors of the Scottish economy. She says it is "massively valuable" to Scotland's international reputation.

    But, she says: "We have to protect life and health.

    "We're having to do things right now that would have been unthinkable months ago", she adds.

    "These issues are high up in our minds and on our agenda", the first minister says.

    Restaurant customersImage source, Getty Images