Holyrood Live
BBC Parliaments

Image source, Thinkstock

Lockdown restrictions are causing a "mental health crisis" for disabled people, a charity has said.

A survey of 822 people by Inclusion Scotland found disabled people were being "pushed to the brink" following the reduction or withdrawal of social care support.

Policy officer Susie Fitton tells MSPs that 15 of those surveyed admitted they were suicidal because of the restrictions and a "fear of being abandoned".

She explains many disabled people are having to rely on family members to help wash and feed them, most of whom do not have training or support from social care services.

There is also concern among parents of disabled children that they will be unable to go back to school in August, with isolation leading to increased self-harm and violent outbursts Ms Fitton says.

The underlying mental health issues may be with us well after lockdown she warns, and calls for fully-funded mental health support.

Holyrood Live
BBC Parliaments

Image source, ScotRail

The feasibility of giving free face coverings to rail passengers is being considered, according to the managing director of ScotRail.

Wearing face coverings will be compulsory on public transport in England from 15 June.

However it is only expected in Scotland, although Nicola Sturgeon said her government was considering whether to make it mandatory.

Scotland currently recommends wearing coverings in shops and on public transport.

Mr Hynes tells Holyrood's Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee it is not law to wear a face covering on trains in Scotland, but the vast majority of the public have followed the guidance and "have been fantastic".

He says: "We need to ensure we educate the public in our five safety rules for travel.

"We will be strongly encouraging our customers to follow the guidance."

Mornings with Kaye Adams
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, PA

Perthshire farmer Jim Fairlie says "our season has been completely wiped out" but thinks the Scottish government needs to retain lockdown a bit longer to ensure the country beats the novel coronavirus.

"Tourism is everybody's business in Scotland - the amount of reliance we have on the food and drink sector and tourist industry is huge," he tells BBC Radio Scotland. "But we also have to realise we are slap bang in the middle of a worldwide pandemic that is killing people - and in a nasty way."

Mr Fairlie, who has been forced to sell meat from his farm door-to-door, says street food and the catering industry at big events "has been completely forgotten about" during the pandemic.

However, he adds: "We are getting right to the cusp of where we can say we have zero deaths and zero infections over a period of time and we've just got to hang on that little bit longer."

Douglas Fraser
Scotland business & economy editor

Image source, Google

While retail and "casual dining" remains locked down, the battle with landlords continues, and companies are exiting outlets that under-perform.

Quiz, a fashion chain headquartered in Glasgow, has put itself into administration, in a pre-pack deal that will see the same parent company buy back the assets for £1.3m and start renegotiating leases. It expects most of its 82 outlets to reopen.

Monsoon Accessorize is shutting 35 stores permanently with 545 jobs to go. The remaining 160 may re-open, but that depends on talks with landlords, and 2,300 jobs are in the balance.

The Restaurant Group is shutting 125 outlets across the UK, mostly branded Frankie and Benny’s and Chiquito’s. It is seeking to reduce rent on 85 others. Sixty outlets are unaffected, as its Wagamama chain. There are 29 Frankie and Benny’s outlets in Scotland.

Holyrood Live
BBC Parliaments

Image source, Science Photo Library

"The shielded group has borne some of the heaviest burdens," accepts Dr Smith.

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.

They have not been forgotten about and we are working to ensure we can change those restrictions when it is safe to do so, he adds.

Scotland's interim chief medical officer says currently modelling suggests people should be able to go outside to exercise again from 18 June but it is not safe enough yet to meet others.

I would expect over the course of July we can make further recommendations he adds.

We are looking to create more tailored advice for people who are shielding so they are able to make a judgement about how to go about their everyday life, says Dr Smith.

Mornings with Kaye Adams
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, PA Media

Depopulation is a threat hanging over remote communities like Shetland, where the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been "colossal" for local businesses, island ambassador Veronica Rocks tells BBC Radio Scotland.

"Shetland has been able to provide young people with a solid future with a good quality of life, but that could change," the proprietor of Busta House Hotel says.

Ms Rocks is wary of the island opening back up for tourists and other visitors because medical services on Scottish islands "are always a bit more tricky".

"Businesses would love to be open, but at the moment, there is no sense of optimism," she says. "People are very down and very worried and don't know when their next bit of money is coming from."

Ms Rocks suggests that there could be a focus on "local staycations", which in Shetland's case could mean people having their holidays in other islands.

Holyrood Live
BBC Parliaments

Labour MSP Monica Lennon asks about the advice to maintain the 2m distance rule.

• Could social distancing of less than two metres work?
• What are social distancing and self-isolation rules?
• Scots tourism businesses want two-metre rule reviewed

Image source, Getty Images

Dr Gregor Smith says 2m is the "best balance" and reducing this would create a "much greater risk" of transmission on the virus.

He says while the WHO recommends at least one metre, there is variation around the world. The smaller the distance, the less time a person can spend within that distance before the risk becomes much greater he adds.

Image source, Getty Images

The Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee is about to take evidence on the impact of Covid-19 on transport in Scotland.

MSPs will look at the measures proposed by transport operators to provide services and ensure the safety of commuters and staff returning to work as the Coronavirus lockdown restrictions are relaxed.

The commmittee will hear from:

• Alex Hynes from Scotland’s Railway
• Robert Samson from Transport Focus
• Paul White from the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK
• Gordon Martin from the RMT
• Robbie Drummond from CalMac Ferries Limited
• Paul Tetlaw from Transform Scotland

• Meeting papers can be found here, external
• You can watch the committee here with Scottish Parliament TV, external

Holyrood Live
BBC Parliaments

Interim chief medical officer Dr Gregor Smith emphasises the importance of taking steps out of lockdown carefully and assessing the impact of each before moving on.

"One of the worst things we could do after enduring these restrictions for so many weeks is move too quickly at this time and find that we lose control of transmissions in the community," he says.

The R-number should be stable before we move onto the next phase Dr Smith tells MSPs.

Scotland's chief statistician Prof Roger Halliday explains the government has been monitoring what happened to the R-number in other countries when they took different easement steps.

But we are also looking regularly at the non-Covid impacts of the measures and the benefits opening up some services brings, he adds.

Mornings with Kaye Adams
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, Kylesku Hotel

The rest of Europe beginning to re-open its restaurants and hotels ahead of the UK "puts us in a strong position to see what happens and what does work", hotel owner Tanja Lister tells BBC Radio Scotland.

"The Highlands are a wonderful place to come if you are worried about being in close proximity to other people - we've got wide open spaces, plenty of beaches and fresh air," she says. "But I can understand there is some reticence and nervousness around whether it is safe to do so and we need to be guided by that."

Ms Lister says her own Kylesku Hotel in Sutherland would be happy to join a kite mark or quality assurance scheme that demonstrated her establishment is as safe as possible for visitors.

But she says the Scottish government needs to give businesses like hers time to prepare measures like ordering appropriate PPE.

Ms Lister says redundancies already announced in the tourism industry show it is vital that some of the summer season is saved.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, Getty Images

Prof Emma Thomson says the Covid-19 virus does not look man-made and is "very likely" to be from bats.

She told Radio Scotland that if a virus was man-made you might expect to see bits of it containing bits of known virus.

"That wasn't the case with this virus. There's no evidence to suggest it's man-made," she said.

Andrew Black
BBC Scotland Business Presenter

Scottish salmon is the UK’s biggest food export - we sold £618m of it to countries like the US and China last year.

Coronavirus hit the industry hard in April, with virtually all export markets closed and UK restaurants shut.

Jim Gallagher, boss of salmon producer Scottish Sea Farms, said: “At the beginning it was very dark and like most businesses , it was very challenging.”

But he also told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme things were bouncing back, and said his industry could play a key role in Scotland’s economic recovery

“We as a sector have an opportunity to provide highly skilled , highly paid jobs,” he said.

“Everybody’s talking about the level of unemployment increasing - we don’t expect that to be happening in our business , it’s the opposite for us .”

Image source, Scottish Sea Farms

Holyrood's Covid-19 Committee is about to begin looking at options for easing the Coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

In the first evidence session MSPs will hear from:

• Interim CMO Dr Gregor Smith
• Scotland’s Chief Scientist Professor David Crossman
• Chief Statistician Professor Roger Halliday

Then they’ll hear from:

• Scottish Care chief executive Dr Donald Macaskill
• Susie Fitton from Inclusion Scotland

You can watch the evidence session here with us on the live page or with SPTV.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, Getty Images

Prof Emma Thomson tells Radio Scotland that research has shown the virus that causes Covid-19 is not mutating very rapidly.

She said this should make it more likely that a vaccine could be developed and for it to have a higher chance of working.