• The first drug proven to cut Covid-19 deaths is found by a UK research team involving hospitals in Scotland.
• A further 233 deaths by Covid-19 have been registered in the UK, five in Scotland.
• Scotland's unemployment rate is now the highest among all the UK nations - 4.6% compared to 3.9% UK-wide.
• But First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned against any "reckless" move to ease lockdown in Scotland.
• More than 300 airport workers in Edinburgh and Glasgow have been put on notice of redundancy by Menzies Aviation.

• Children in Scotland who qualify for free school meals will continue to get them during the school holidays.
• A man jailed for four months for coughing in the faces of police officers during the Covid-19 lockdown has had his sentence increased to 10 months.
• Partick Thistle have joined Hearts in taking court action against relegation after the last football season was halted by the pandemic.

We'll be back with more live coverage in the morning. Have a good evening.

Drivetime with Fiona Stalker
BBC Radio Scotland

A donation of £250,000 to help fund women's football in Scotland will be a weight off a lot of people's minds, according to Scotland midfielder Leanne Crichton.

Edinburgh philanthropist James Anderson gave the cash after his £3m contribution to the men’s game last week.

The money will go to the Scottish Football Partnership Trust to help sustain the women’s game during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Image source, SNS

Professor Devi Sridhar of Edinburgh University believes schools should "reopen as normally as possible" in August - if the number of new cases falls to less than 20 a day.

But the global public health expert warned that to achieve this testing would need to be expanded to catch all cases in the community.

Reality Check

Boris Johnson was asked if the UK had banned the export of dexamethasone at today's Downing Street briefing. It is a cheap and widely available drug that a trial at Oxford University has shown can save the lives of patients who are severely ill with Covid-19 and need oxygen treatment.

The prime minister said he wasn’t aware of the ban.

On 24 April, dexamethasone, in the form of tablets and capsules, was added to a list of medicines that cannot be exported from the UK or hoarded, external.

And today dexamethasone, in the form of oral solutions and injections, was also added to the list.

According to the government’s website, “exporting a medicine on the list is considered a breach of regulation 43(2) of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 and a contravention… may lead to regulatory action by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which could include immediate suspension of the wholesale dealer licence".

Image source, John Menzies

More than 300 airport workers in Edinburgh and Glasgow have been put on notice of imminent redundancy.

The Unite trade union said Menzies Aviation has started a 45-day consultation with staff.

Before most aircraft were grounded, the company was one of those providing ground handling for aircraft and baggage.

The firm said it had taken the decision with "great sadness" due to the unprecedented decline in air travel.

Read more here.

Drivetime with Fiona Stalker
BBC Radio Scotland

The steroid drug found to reduce mortality in patients with a severe case of Covid-19 is already widely given to pregnant women and patients with eye inflammation, Dr Chris Smith tells BBC Radio Scotland.

"Dexamethasone is a steroid drug that brings the immune system under control and that's one of the observations we made early on in this pandemic - it's not the virus that does most of the damage in people who die," the Naked Scientist explains. "The virus starts the ball rolling, but it's your immune system that finishes the job."

Dr Smith suggests the discovery by an Oxford University-led team "is really important because, for the first time, we now have something to throw at this with confidence that is also very cheap, very readily available and also makes a big difference".

He points out that it can cut the death rate by up to 30%, which he compares with the previous drug adopted in the UK - remdesivir - "that just dented the symptoms by maybe 30% but didn't affect the mortality at all".

Image source, SNS

Partick Thistle have accepted "an extremely generous offer" to fund a legal challenge to their relegation from the Scottish Championship by joining Heart of Midlothian in court.

The Tynecastle club announced yesterday they had taken "necessary steps" to start proceedings against being demoted from the Premiership after last season was cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thistle previously said they could not afford the six-figure legal costs.

However, an offer to fund court action means they will "launch a joint legal challenge".

Stranraer have also been demoted to League One, while Highland League champions Brora Rangers and Lowland League counterparts Kelty Hearts missed out on a chance to win promotion to League Two.

Read more here.

Drivetime with Fiona Stalker
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, Getty Images

The new steroid drug could be "immediately available everywhere," a Scottish intensive care doctor at the centre of the team behind the dexamethasone trial has told Drivetime.

Dozens of hospitals in Scotland, coordinated by Prof Kenneth Baillie in Edinburgh, were part of a UK-wide team effort in the trial.

Dr Baillie, who is a clinical research fellow in anaesthesia and critical care, explains patients in hospital with Covid-19 could be treated with the drug as early as this evening.

Describing the finding as "absolutely stunning", he says: "I don't think I've had my breath taken away by a research finding quite like this one.

"We only discovered this disease six months ago and already we have a treatment that can cut mortality of patients I treat in intensive care by 35%."

Drivetime with Fiona Stalker
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, PA Media

"Dozens of hospitals in Scotland, coordinated by Prof Kenny Baillie in Edinburgh", were part of "a UK-wide team effort" that discovered a cheap and widely available drug that can help save the lives of patients seriously ill with Covid-19.

The low-dose steroid treatment Dexamethasone has been found to reduce the risk of dying by about a third for those in intensive care or on a ventilator.

Lead researcher Prof Martin Landray tells BBC Radio Scotland: "It is the first time a drug has been found to improve survival for patients with Covid and that's a big step forward.

"If we had known at the beginning of the UK epidemic in early March what we know now, we might have save 4,000-5,000 lives."

Asked what it felt like to make the discovery, Prof Landray adds: "It was one of those unrepeatable moments. It's extraordinary. The first thing you do is check it, so we checked it and checked it and this is a real result."

Vicki Young of the BBC now asks if the PM has lost touch after having to U-turn on providing free school meals over the summer holidays in England.

Read more about the government’s U-turn on the measure here.

The PM replies: "I talked to [Manchester United forward] Marcus Rashford and congratulated him on his campaigning, which I only became aware of today."

"I do think it is right that we should be looking after families of the vulnerable."

Drivetime with Fiona Stalker
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, Getty Images

Being proactive and innovative will be important for individuals and businesses going forward, an HR and recruitment consultant says.

Jamie Livingstone tells Drivetime: "These current unemployment figures are just the start. I think that as the furlough scheme starts to taper off as we move towards October there will be a significant spike in employment unfortunately."

He advises those who have lost work to focus only on "controlling what you can control".

Mr Livingstone says some parts of the job market are still busy and he welcomes firms embracing technology as part of the new normal - including interviewing candidates via video link.

Drivetime with Fiona Stalker
BBC Radio Scotland

The number of people out of work in Scotland has risen by 30,000 and now stands at 4.6% of the population. At her daily briefing, the first minister warned that that the full impact of the pandemic on jobs has yet to be felt.

Musician Alan Parker explains he had to apply for Universal Credit for the first time due to coronavirus preventing him from performing.

He successfully applied for a self-employment grant - but this has had the knock-on impact of halving his UC.

The 30-year-old from East Dunbartonshire says he is "living day-today" and cannot apply for another grant until August.

Musicians are not set to return to work until phase four of the Scottish government's plan. But Alan says he might look into doing gigs in care homes gardens, something some of his colleagues have had success with.

Image source, bbc

Peter Horby, from Oxford University, says the UK has been carrying out "by far the biggest clinical trials in the world".

That trial has been into Dexamethasone, a cheap steroid which could save one in three lives of Covid-19 patients on ventilators.

The professor of emerging infectious diseases and global health says what they found from Dexamethasone "was really quite remarkable".

He says 75% of patients in hospital will receive a benefit from the drug.

"This is really good news," he adds.

• Nicola Sturgeon announces £230m support for the economy
• The first minister warns any reckless relaxation of lockdown rules would be economically counter productive and cost lives
• She calls for the UK government to extend the furlough scheme
• A labour market summit will be held tomorrow on tackling unemployment - Scotland's unemployment rate is now the highest among all the UK nations

• The first minister also announces £12.6m to allow free school meals to continue over the summer
• She pays tribute to Marcus Rashford over his free school meals campaign in England, as UK government announces a “Covid summer school fund’
• £15m will be provided to maintain wider support for those in severe poverty and those being asked to isolate under Test and Protect

• FM expects to announce move to phase 2 of easing lockdown restrictions on Thursday

• A further five people who tested positive have died, taking the total to 2,453 deaths in Scotland by that measure

Drivetime with Fiona Stalker
BBC Radio Scotland

What could it be like going out for a drink or a meal when there is further lifting of restrictions? Stuart McPhee from Siberia Bar & Hotel in Aberdeen explains what they'll put in place....

"The council have been very helpful in that they are allowing queuing out on the pavement for entry. We will be able to form queues.

"The external areas when we open those will be booking only, it’ll be time slots and very controlled from an entry point of view.

"You’ll get your temperature check, there’ll be a one way system down to your table, then from your table you’ll order from an app."

Drivetime with Fiona Stalker
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, PA Media

Scotland's private schools have had "a strong and consistent interest across the country" amid concerns about the blended learning being promised in the public sector, BBC Radio Scotland is told.

John Edward, who is director of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools, was responding to newspaper reports suggesting there had been a flood of parents making enquiries.

He admits "it's anecdotal to a certain extent" but points out that independent schools "will be aiming to deliver as much of that education on site and face-to-face" when pupils return in August.

Some councils have said they will not be able to meet the Scottish government's target of 50% in-class learning.