Image source, IHG

Hundreds of jobs are under threat at five Scottish hotels run by the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) amid the coronavirus crisis.

IHG has started a redundancy consultation process with staff at its hotels in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

They are the Kimpton Charlotte Square, InterContinental The George and Crown Plaza in Edinburgh, and Grand Central and Kimpton Blythswood Square, Glasgow.

The hotels have been closed since the lockdown went into effect in March. Most of the staff have been furloughed.

IHG has not confirmed how many redundancies it will be seeking. The five hotels employ well over 500 staff between them.

• A total of 15,553 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Scotland
• A further nine people who tested positive have died, taking the total deaths to 2,395 by that measure
• PPE report to be published by Scottish government
• The first minister warns people not to meet those from another household in doors, regardless of the weather
• Sturgeon highlights slight improvement in R number - although this doe not take into account impact of easing lockdown
• FM considering making face coverings mandatory in shops and on public transport, with exemptions
• Health secretary announces the publication of a framework for recovery of cancer surgery

Holyrood Live
BBC Parliaments

MSPs will now ask Covid-19 related portfolio questions.

They'll quiz social security and older people ministers first, then finance ministers and finally their colleagues with the environment, climate change and land reform briefs.

You can watch the proceedings here on the live page with us.

Tom Gordon, from The Herald, wonders about the requirement for face coverings and if children will have to wear them when they return to school in August. He also wonders if the Scottish government would purchase them for distribution in pharmacies.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon stresses that the advice to the public, where appropriate, is to wear face coverings, not to use medical-grade masks.

She says that, if the government decided to make face coverings mandatory in certain situations, it would have to consider exemptions as it would not necessarily be appropriate for all ages of children.

Scott Macnab, from The Scotsman, asks about the economic emergency predicted as a result of Covid-19 and wonders if the Scottish government will need an emergency budget or to think of taking over some cash-hit companies.

Nicola Sturgeon replies that: "We will do anything and everything we reasonably can to support the economy overall and support individual businesses."

She points out that, before the current crisis, the Scottish government had been "interventionist when required", taking stakes or providing incentives to keep unviable companies going, and would continue to do that.

Image source, Getty Images

Andrew Nicoll, from The Sun, points out that the government has today published a report on Exercise Iris, a pandemic planning exercise from March 2018, and suggests it states that "issues over PPE have exposed a clear gap in preparedness for outbreaks that needs to be addressed as soon as possible".

He asks why it has taken the Scottish government two years to put in place the measures for increasing supplies from home manufacturers and abroad announced today.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman says the Scottish government not only had those stockpiles, but had increased the volume of PPE that is ordered and supplied - as well as creating a new supply chain for care homes.

Image source, Getty Images

Libby Brooks from The Guardian asks if face coverings are likely to become mandatory following anecdotal evidence indicating few people are wearing them.

We are still considering this though we have not reached a final position on it, says Ms Sturgeon.

I understand why people may not want to wear a face covering but there is a benefit to be had, she says, adding she would "strongly encourage" people to use them.

Rachel Watson from The Daily Mail asks what would be the catalyst for making them mandatory.

Ms Sturgeon explains that as the country opens up more, and as people go back to work in the future, government will want to see people wearing a covering.

Image source, Getty Images

Simon Johnson from The Telegraph asks whether it is time to start testing asymptomatic care home residents even where there are no Covid-19 cases in their care home, as has been announced in the other UK nations.

The first minister highlights care home staff will be subject to regular testing as they are the people most likely to bring coronavirus into homes without knowing it. She explains there are ethical considerations on the routine testing of frail older people.

Dr Gregor Smith adds the clinical experts have examine the issue and concluded testing asymptomatic residents would not add much in terms of controlling infection.

He says the ethical challenges of testing residents were huge and "disproportionate" to any benefits, while the package of measures also in place for preventing infection is more important.

Image source, bbc

Last month First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she "understands the concerns" over the handling of a coronavirus outbreak at a conference in Edinburgh.

At least 25 people linked to the Nike event in February are thought to have contracted the virus.

Ms Sturgeon said information was not made public at the time for "legitimate" reasons of patient confidentiality.

Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw has said the public "should have been told" about the coronavirus outbreak

Read more here.

Neil Pooran, from the Press Association, asks about the Covid-19 outbreak at the Nike conference in Edinburgh and the suggestion by Public Health Scotland that there is no timescale for the promised report on that to be released.

He suggests it needs to be published quickly if lessons are to be learned.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says she wants the report to be published as quickly as possible but stresses that "the experts and scientists working on this need to be allowed to complete their work".

Dr Gregor Smith, interim chief medical officer, says the report might take more time because it was a multi-national investigation.

Image source, Getty Images

Phil McDonald, from Global, reports that Glasgow City Council has plans to scrap about 700 parking spaces to improve social distancing and other councils might do something similar.

Is there a risk that, by pushing more people on to public transport, such measures will do more harm than good?

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says councils are looking "very innovatively" at how they can change to accommodate social distancing and suggests there are risks in everything and that it is about getting the balance right.

She suggests that the idea is not to push people on to public transport but to encourage more walking and cycling.

Ms Sturgeon points out that the advice at the moment is not to use public transport unless it is essential and to work from home if possible.

Image source, Getty Images

Peter MacMahon, from ITV Border, refers to deaths of residents in a care home in Eyemouth and quotes the leaders of Scottish Borders Council saying the Scottish government "has refused point blank" to allow routine, regular testing in care homes.

Nicola Sturgeon insists she takes responsibility for what happened in care homes and says she and Ms Freeman have been open in answering questions every day on television and radio.

She says the government's policy for testing in care homes has changed as the medical evidence has changed.

The health secretary denies there was any refusal to allow routine testing and suggests there might have been a breakdown in communication.

She says she has written to all health boards and councils asking them to provide figures on testing in care homes so both the government and public can track its progress.

Image source, Getty Images

Steven Brown, from STV, asks about the Test and Protect system and wonders how many people had been contacted and traced during its first week and how many are in care homes.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says the first data will be published next week.

The normal baselines capacity of intensive care beds was exceeded between 31 March to 24 April, the interim chief medical officer confirms.

Dr Gregor Smith says 516 people were admitted to ICU with Covid-19 between 1 March to 16 May.

The busiest day was 9 April, which saw the number of people in ICU 46% above the usual capacity, Dr Smith says. This was possible due to the tripling of ICU beds.

The interim CMO also says the average stay in an ICU bed of nine days was longer than a normal stay, while many patients required extra care such as ventilators or dialysis.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman says that while the majority of treatment has continued, some plans were changes as a result of the new risk of coronavirus.

She says: “As we begin to slowly and safely restart our NHS, I’m pleased to announced we are publishing today the framework for recovery of cancer surgery, external.”

Patients will be offered the earliest available appointment for a surgery, though this may mean they are offered this outside their normal health board area she confirms.

The health secretary announces two national cancer groups have been established:

• a national cancer recovery group to provide strategic national oversight of all cancer services throughout the remobilisation phase;
• and a national cancer treatment group to drive equity of access to treatment.

Ms Freeman tells cancer patients: "I want you to be assured you are a priority and our focus is on making sure you are treated as soon and as safely as possible."