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The SNP MSP Emma Harper asks what additional steps are being taken to understand the impact of hospital-acquired infections?

Ms Freeman answers that it's important to define which cases should be considered to have been acquired in hospital, and that this is decided with consideration given to the incubation period of the virus.

Across the UK, a probable hospital-acquired case is when a patient tests positive after being in hospital for more than seven but less than 14 days, and a definite case is a patient has been in more than 14 days.

She adds that additional infection prevention measures to reduce the spread are in place which includes PPE and extra cleaning.

Green MSP Alison Johnstone asks whether the cabinet secretary agrees that the "ongoing absence of routine regualr testing in hospital is indefensible"?

Ms Freeman says she agrees that in some settings testing of staff in particular who do not have symptoms is the right precautionary measure to take - along with other steps.

She says once she has more information she expects to introduce more testing in particular clinical settings.

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The Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon asks if there will be an inquiry into hospital-acquired coronavirus infections.

Jeane Freeman responds that families need answers. She says information about how the virus is transmitted will be made available, and that extra steps to protect those in hospitals are being considered.

"Whether or not there is an inquiry... will be a decision for another day", she says,

She adds that right now the focus should be on mitigating and minimising the risk of hospital-acquired infections.

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The Scottish Conservative MSP Miles Briggs asks the health secretary why the Scottish government did not immediately publish details of the number of patients who had contracted Covid-19 in hospital.

Jeane Freeman says the challenge is that it's not clear whether infections were contracted in hospital or in the community prior to coming into hospital.

She says the unvalidated data is "very far from definitive" due to coronavirus' long incubation period. These are "suspected transmissions", she stresses.

"I apologise to every single person who has lost a loved one... All of us should do that", she adds.

Ms Freeman vows to publish validated data from now on, and says it is "inexcusable" for Mr Briggs to take unvalidated data and "pretend that it is validated".

Image source, EPA

Coronavirus may have been spreading in Scotland before the first cases were confirmed at the start of March, the chief medical officer has said.

Dr Gregor Smith said scientists had identified early cases of the virus which had no clear link to travel.

He said this suggested that coronavirus was likely to have been spreading in the community in February.

But he stressed that these cases were likely to have been "very few in number".

Read more here.

• FM confirms seven Covid-19 deaths recorded in Scotland yesterday after two days of zero deaths
• Today’s figure is likely to pick up on the weekend lag in death registration but shows a continued downward trend
• FM announces an expert group to look at impact of Covid-19 on Scotland's ethnic minorities
• Interim CMO says the government don’t think the Nike conference in Edinburgh caused a wider outbreak of Covid in Scotland

• Scotland's Test and Protect data will be published for the first time tomorrow
• Nicola Sturgeon thanks Scotland's unpaid carers to mark Carers Week 2020
• It's too early to detect impact of phase one easing of restrictions on R-Number
• If you see people breaking the regulations call the police says FM

The Times asks if reports of a rising R rate in the north of England, along with increasing levels of cross-border traffic, are a cause for concern.

The main way of keeping the R rate in check is to comply with all of the guidance, says the first minister, adding: "Sometimes, it's really important to bring it all back to the basics."

Nicola Sturgeon says the R rate is monitored carefully in Scotland and England and says "appropriate action" will be taken if there are any spikes. She says that any further speculation on the subject would not be particularly helpful at this stage.

Image source, PA Media

2.05pm: Topical Questions: Today Health Secretary Jeane Freeman will face questions on:

• the number of patients who have contracted Covid-19 in hospital
• the guidance for passengers arriving in Scotland from abroad
• prisoners’ contact with their families during the Covid-19 outbreak

2.20pm: Ministerial Statement: Reporting to Parliament on the Coronavirus Acts

2.50pm: Scottish government Debate: COVID-19 Next Steps (Communities). Further plans to help communities through the coronavirus pandemic will be outlined by ministers.

You can watch all the Covid-19 proceedings at Holyrood with us on this live page.

Routine testing for other groups of workers is under consideration, says the first minister, as we move on from the current system of symptomatic testing.

She says it will be part of the future surveillance strategy in a bid to understand the role of asymptomatic carriers, for example.

Dr Gregor Smith says the chief scientific officer and his team are examining the best ways to use the testing capacity as we move forward.

Image source, Getty Images

Simon Johnson from The Telegraph raises calls from the tourism sector for the 2m rule to be relaxed, as it has been suggested could happen south of the border.

The first minister says she has not seen the evidence behind the UK government’s consideration of relaxing this rule and everything she has seen says it should be maintained.

Image source, Getty Images

The Daily Record asks if there are plans to examine deaths from February to see if any could be Covid-19 related.

The first minister says that none of the evidence she has seen would suggest a significant spike of deaths at that time, but acknowledges that such an investigation could happen in "the fullness of time".

Dr Gregor Smith says while it is "fair" to speculate that there may have been a few imported cases apparent in February, there are no other indications of unusual patterns in hospital admissions or excess deaths.

Dr Gregor Smith says evidence indicates there was some form of community transmission in Scotland in February, following a question from Tom Martin from The Daily Express.

This is earlier than the first case not linked to overseas travel confirmed by the Scottish government on 11 March.

However, Dr Smith adds it is difficult to say when the virus may have been introduced to Scotland based on this.

Image source, Getty Images

Tom Eden of PA highlights comments made by John Scott QC to the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing this morning that quarantine rules were a “mess” and his criticism of the guidance for police was only published on Sunday, when the measures came into force on Monday.

The first minister explains the guidance was published on Sunday because there were "complex issues" to work through, particularly with regard to human rights compliance.

We did not want what is a public health measure to be too driven by criminal enforcement, she adds.

Image source, Police Scotland

Bauer ask if the Scottish government is losing control of lockdown, with reports of people drinking outside Edinburgh pubs and in beer gardens.

"No, I don't think so," says the first minister, who adds that the vast majority are complying with guidance not simply because they are being told what to do but because they understand it is for the best.

If people break the regulations then you should call the police and allow them to take appropriate action, says Nicola Sturgeon.

Anyone flouting the rules is not only putting themselves at risk but also endangering friends and family, she explains, before thanking people for the doing "the right thing for the right reasons".

Image source, Science Photo Library

The shielding of those who are most at risk if they become infected with Covid-19 should continue until 31 July, the first minister has said.

The Scottish government's original advice was to shield until 18 June, but this has now been extended until "at least" the end of July.

However, Nicola Sturgeon said the group should be able to go outside for exercise from 18 June.

Currently the advice is to stay at home and not go outside at all.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

The first minister says the Scottish government wants to get to a position where they can offer more tailored advice to those who are shielding.

The target for easing restrictions set out yesterday is the end of July, but Nicola Sturgeon insists the current guidance is constantly being monitored and that it is anticipated that changes will be made in some cases by 18 July, allowing people to get outside for exercise.

The aim is for individuals to get to the stage where they can have informed conversations with their own clinicians about mitigating the risk of infection, she says.