Image source, PA Media

ScotRail's increase in services today should not be interpreted as a green light to ditch social distancing on public transport, a trades union general secretary warns.

The level of services from 47% to 60% comes ahead of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s expected announcement on Thursday that Scotland will be moving to phase two of its lockdown easing.

“More services on ScotRail’s tracks does not mean that it’s safe for the general public to start using the trains again," the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association's Manuel Cortes says while referencing the death of station worker Belly Mujinga among others in the industry.

“Keeping a physical distance of at least two metres between passengers and/or staff at all times remains the most effective measure to control the spread of Covid-19.

“I do urge the public wherever possible to continue to work from home. The only people who should be on the trains right now are key workers who are keeping us safe during this pandemic."

Image source, BBC Studios

New episodes of River City are set to air in September, BBC Scotland has announced.

Filming is due to resume in August with social distancing measures in place.

Two 30-minute episodes will be broadcast each week, half the length of the normal programme. This is to reduce the number of cast and crew on set.

The last original episode of River City aired on 18 May - but fans have been enjoying River City Rewind, a ten-part series delving into the archives.

If you're just tuning in to our live coverage, here's a quick roundup of what's been happening:

• Nicola Sturgeon says Scottish pupils should get back to "normal" schooling "as quickly as possible"
• Hundreds of people have been queuing outside shops after a relaxation of England's coronavirus lockdown allowed all retailers to reopen with strict safety measures. There is still no date for Scotland but we are expecting one on Thursday

• A new rule requiring most people to wear face coverings while travelling on public transport has come into force in England today. Mandatory face coverings are only being considered for Scotland so far

Image source, Scottish government

• No new coronavirus deaths have been reported in Scotland in the past 24 hours, the third time the figure has remained the same since lockdown began, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced. A total of 2,448 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for the virus
• Johan Lundgren, the boss of EasyJet, said he would feel "100% safe" flying on full planes as the airline resumed a limited number of flights

Image source, PA Media

An EasyJet flight from Gatwick Airport has arrived in Glasgow for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown in March.

The service, one of nearly 300 being operated by the airline this week, touched down shortly after 08:00.

All passengers and crew - totalling about a third of normal capacity - had to wear face masks.

EasyJet also flew a Gatwick to Inverness service, which landed just before 15:00.

Read more here.

Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

Scottish councils have been drawing up their proposals for how schools will operate when they return after the summer holidays. But some plans, according to the first minister, were "not good enough".

Lucy Whyte is hosting Drivetime today and she will be speaking to council umbrella body Cosla.

Also on the programme - shops have opened in England. There were big, big queues in some places - so when will our retailers follow suit? And are you ready to rush to the stores?

Text in on 80295.

The Scottish government has been accused of communicating "mixed messages" over reopening schools in August, following Nicola Sturgeon's daily coronavirus briefing.

Jamie Greene, the Scottish Conservatives' education spokesman, said Nicola Sturgeon appeared to contradict some of the statements made by her education secretary, John Swinney.

“We are now several months into this crisis and that’s more than enough time for the SNP to have come up with a nationwide plan to maximise in-class schooling.

“Instead, all we’re seeing is more confusion, mixed messaging, and a chronic lack of leadership.

"Parents and teachers won’t know who to listen to – the First Minister or the education secretary – as their stories are increasingly different."

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, AFP

Scottish pupils should get back to "normal" schooling "as quickly as possible", Nicola Sturgeon has said.

Scotland's schools are due to re-open from 11 August, but will initially have a "blended" approach involving face-to-face teaching and at-home learning.

There has been speculation exams in 2021 could be delayed and that blended learning could last for a year.

But the first minister said pupils must be back in the classroom full-time "as quickly as is safe and feasible".

She said it was her government's "firm intention" that next year's exams would go ahead - and that there were no plans for blended learning to last a year.

Read more here.

Image source, SCMA

Nurseries and other early learning and childcare providers have received new guidance, external to help them plan for reopening when it is safe to do so.

Although childcare is in place for vulnerable children and children of key workers, most providers will remain closed until later in the summer.

The guidance includes caring for children in small groups and minimising contact between those groups.

Nurseries are also being asked to maximise the use of outdoor space.

There are also rules on hand hygiene, managing pick-up times and cleaning regimes.

Read more, external

Image source, Stem Academy

Free online lessons are being launched so school pupils can spend their summer learning while adhering to social distancing measures.

The University of Glasgow-led Summer Stem Academy, now in its third year of operation, is making 26 workshops on a wide variety of science and engineering topics available digitally from Monday.

Lessons feature worksheets and videos to guide learners on unique projects which can be done from home.

Volunteers from the Universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier, Heriot-Watt and Strathclyde have crafted workshop activities on topics including robotics, biodiversity and space colonisation.

Image source, SNS

Hearts have started a legal challenge against their relegation after clubs failed to back league reconstruction that would have saved the Edinburgh club from dropping a division along with Partick Thistle and Stranraer.

Only 16 of 42 Scottish Professional Football League clubs indicated that they would vote for league reconstruction, having been asked if they would support a permanent 14-10-10-10 set-up after last season was cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The backing fell short of the threshold required and the league says its board has now "agreed to draw a line under reconstruction talks".

It means that next season will begin with the existing 12-10-10-10 format, with Hearts dropping to the Scottish Championship, Partick Thistle to League One and Stranraer to League Two.

Read more here.

Today's Scottish government coronavirus daily briefing was dominated by the return of schools.

Nicola Sturgeon expects councils to have plans in place by 11 August to “maximise” face-to-face learning.

The Scottish government will intervene to ask councils to revise their plans where maximising time in schools is not happening.

Here are the other key points from today's briefing:

• The coronavirus regulation reviews, held every three weeks, will now also look at education

• The government intends next year's exam diet to go ahead

• FM hopes Scotland can take another step out of lockdown to get a degree of normality back on Thursday
• NHS staff abuse is "unacceptable'" says interim chief medical officer
• Health secretary apologises to QEUH patients and families as report published into design and build problems
• There were no new registered deaths with Covid-19 over the last 24 hours and 29 new cases confirmed, meaning there has been a total of 18,030 positive tests since the start of the outbreak.

Derek Healey, from The Courier, points out that, two weeks ago, the first minister said it was not her intention to have any penalties or sanctions for parents who were concerned about safety and decide to keep their children at home when schools open in August.

However, he points out that Education Secretary John Swinney said earlier there would be a legal requirement.

Nicola Sturgeon replies that: "John was stating what the law is. I will continue to state, as he would, that we don't want to be in the position where parents are feeling that it is not safe to send their children to school.

"Part of getting us there is to build the confidence of parents and teachers and young people themselves."

Rachel Watson, from the Daily Mail, says her newspaper revealed today that the government's advisory committee said there was little to no evidence the two-metre rule in schools will have an impact on the transmission of the virus. If that is the case, she asks, why is the Scottish government is sticking to it?

She also wonders if school holidays might be cancelled in the new academic year to give children more time in class.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says: "I'm not ruling anything like that out."

On the point about the two-metre rule she stresses that when experts say there is "little evidence about something, it often means we don't yet know enough about this virus" and this is particularly important where the lives of children are concerned.

Interim chief medical officer Gregor Smith points out the risks of a child picking up the virus, spreading it to their immediate family and then spreading it to an older family member who has a greater chance of becoming seriously ill.

Simon Johnson, from the Daily Telegraph, points out that the first minister has expressed her willingness to learn from what is happening in other countries.

He points out that all children are back at school in Denmark with one-metre distancing between pupils and two-metres between pupils and staff - and wonders if that is a better balance to get more children back in class.

He also suggests that social distancing in schools is made less effective because children are already interacting outside the school gates.

Nicola Sturgeon says she does not believe the government should abandon its guidelines when it comes to schools but she recognises how "alien" it must feel for children at the moment and how difficult it is for them to keep to social distancing.

She says the government will later this week publish guidance on early learning and childcare to keep children safe.

"If we allowed schools to go back to normal and, in a few months time, there was an outbreak at a school, you would rightly be asking me why I did not do more to protect young people," she adds.

Image source, PA Media

Tom Martin from The Daily Express says Education Secretary John Swinney earlier suggested on the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that councils should be aiming to have children spend 50% of time in class.

Mr Martin also asks about using powers under the Coronavirus Act to avoid a postcode lottery.

Ms Sturgeon says while she does not want to put a ceiling on the amount of time spent in school, the government would have concerns about any councils proposing less than 50%.

She also commits to using legislative powers in an “appropriate and proportionate way,” though she hopes this will not be necessary.

Christine Lavelle from The Sun raises comments made by Scotland’s children’s commissioner Bruce Adamson on the “lifelong consequences” of lockdown on young people.

Nicola Sturgeon acknowledges the risk the current situation poses to young people, but insists these outcomes are not inevitable.

She says the government is seeking ways to level the playing field for this generation, adding: “I am personally committed to that.”

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman confirms there will be an announcement this week on the remobilisation of mental health services.