Summary

  • Five new deaths of people who had tested positive for the virus were registered overnight, taking the total under that measure to 2,453

  • First drug proven to cut Covid-19 deaths is found by a global study - Dexamethasone found effective on seriously ill

  • Scotland's jobless rate is the highest in the UK

  • The figures show unemployment in Scotland is now 4.6%, compared with a UK rate of 3.9%.

  • Nicola Sturgeon said the latest ONS statistics were likely an "underestimate" given the impact of covid-19

  • But she warned against any "reckless" move to ease lockdown despite the growing "economic crisis" and the rise in unemployment

  1. Scotland's unemployment rate highest in UKpublished at 09:22 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

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  2. Bicester Village: Petition calls for closure over safety concernspublished at 09:16 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

    Shopper Adam Marlow said Bicester Village was "way too overcrowded"Image source, @ADAMGMARLOW
    Image caption,

    Shopper Adam Marlow said Bicester Village was "way too overcrowded"

    More than three thousand people have signed a petition calling for Bicester Village to temporarily close after hundreds of people were pictured at the shopping complex.

    Pictures on social media appear to show people struggling to maintain social distancing at the designer retail outlet in Bicester, Oxfordshire.

    The petition is calling for it to be closed until changes are made.

    Value Retail, which runs the complex, has been contacted for comment.

    Meanwhile non-essential shops remain closed in Scotland, however the first minister is expected to provide an update on Thursday.

    Mornings With Kaye Adams is taking your calls right now on this issue.

  3. Here's today's Covid-19 politics agendapublished at 09:09 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

    • 9:30: Justice Committee: Re-opening the courts in Scotland and the prosecution of crime with the Lord Advocate; then some chat among MSPs on prisons and social work.
    • 12.30pm Scottish government coronavirus daily briefing
    Nicola SturgeonImage source, bbc
    Image caption,

    Nicola Sturgeon will lead today's coronavirus briefing at 12.30pm

    • 2.05pm:Topical Questions: Today on the review into the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, the row about part time learning in our schools and the violent scenes that took place in George Square, Glasgow, at the weekend.
    • 2.50pm:Scottish Government Debate: Fiscal Implications of Covid-19
    • 5pm: UK government coronavirus daily briefing
  4. Mornings with Kaye Adams is under way...published at 09:07 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

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  5. Fears over mental health problems as lockdown measures easedpublished at 08:58 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

    A quarter of Scots attribute health problems to their work, a new survey has found.

    Some 30% of respondents to the YouGov survey for CIPD Scotland, the professional body for human resources, said work has a negative impact on their mental health, while 25% said it has worsened their physical health.

    The CIPD's Marek Zemanik said the polling was conducted before the Covid-19 outbreak and said "some of the measures around well-being and job security have already deteriorated since the pandemic".

    He added: "We need to ensure that job quality and fair working practices are at the heart of Scotland's economic recovery."

    office sceneImage source, Getty Images
  6. 'Chancellor should extend furlough scheme'published at 08:39 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    Scotland's economy secretary has suggested cutting VAT to stimulate consumer spending in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Fiona Hyslop said reducing the tax would be a great tool to stimulate demand and boost the economy.

    She has also called on the UK Chancellor to extend the furlough scheme beyond October. The UK government says its economic support during the coronavirus pandemic is among the most generous in the world.

    Ms Hyslop said Scotland cutting VAT would be "a quick and practical measure" for the Treasury to take.

  7. Should we end the travel quarantine system?published at 08:23 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    Ms Hyslop is asked if she would like to see an end to the quarantine system that affects international travel into Scotland. The economy secretary says the UK government and international community will be looking at that, as well as so-called air bridges.

    "I back the science and I want to make sure that we've got the measures in place that ensure we have confidence in people travelling around," she says.

    Ms Hyslop backs away from saying that international tourism won't happen at all this year.

    "It's got to happen when it is safe to do so but we've got to be realistic.We'll be looking at the rest of the UK, and hopefully Ireland as well, where we can look to improve the markets for this year."

  8. What the papers saypublished at 08:15 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

    papers

    Parents criticising the back-to-school plan and an attack on two police officers feature on the front pages. More here

  9. Summer tourism 'will be vital'published at 08:08 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    The next two months will be vital to Scotland's tourism industry, Ms Hyslop says.

    Quote Message

    It's going to be very important that, come July and into August, Scotland and the Scottish tourists get back to discovering their own country. So we come back with some kind of strength to get some kind of season this year.

    Fiona Hyslop, Economy Secretary

  10. Hyslop:We need security and stability for employmentpublished at 08:04 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    Ms Hyslop says: "We want to ensure we can support jobs across all the sectors. But it will be particularly challenging in some.We will see this week what the changes might be in Scotland, but it's really important that when we see that easing of the lockdown there's a security and a stability for employment.

    "That means we are suppressing the virus sufficiently to give customers the confidence to go back."

  11. Unemployment: What's coming down the track will be far worse, says Hysloppublished at 07:57 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    Scotland's economy secretary Fiona Hyslop says our heavier reliance on the tourism industry is a major reason behind Scotland's unemployment rate being the highest in the UK. She says the official figures only capture five weeks of lockdown and "we need to see what happens subsequently".

    "But the scale of what's coming down the track will be far, far more than we've seen here and that is why the scale of the response has to equal that challenge."

  12. Scotland's unemployment rate highest in UKpublished at 07:44 British Summer Time 16 June 2020
    Breaking

    Scotland's unemployment rate is now the highest among all the UK nations, according to official figures.

    The Office for National Statistics said unemployment in Scotland was 4.6%, compared with a UK rate of 3.9%.

    Read more here.

  13. Unemployment in Scotland up by 30,000 in first month of lockdownpublished at 07:44 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

    Unemployment in Scotland rose by 30,000 to 127,000 between March and May, official figures suggest.

    The number of workers on UK payrolls dived more than 600,000 during the same period.

    Read more here.

  14. 'Consider two-metre cut, but don't be complacent'published at 07:38 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    Linda Bauld says the Scottish and UK governments continue to be faced with a very difficult scientific balance. "This is about lives versus lives she says" referring to both health and economic fears.

    Quote Message

    Lives will be damaged by unemployment if businesses are not viable - which is hugely important for health as well - and lives as a result of the virus. So I think the two-metre rule should be considered now, but we shouldn't be complacent.

    Linda Bauld, Proffesor of public health, University of Edinburgh

  15. Customers 'need to be confident' that bars and restaurants are safepublished at 07:30 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    Business experts say any social-distancing measures - whether one metre or two- will force some hospitality firms to operate below their normal capacity and cause continued financial problems.

    Mairi Spowage, deputy director of the University of Strathclyde's Fraser of Allander Institute, told BBC Scotland: "We have to accept that is going to be with us for some time

    "But it's not just about the customer capacity pubs and restaurants have to offer, we've also got to think about consumer confidence."

    She says that if it gets to the point that governments are comfortable with reducing social--distancing, there remains the issue of encouraging people to spend. And she adds that "the majority of people don't feel comfortable about doing that in the next month or so".

  16. UK and Scottitish governments 'remain cautious over social-distancing approach'published at 07:16 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    The Conservative party is increasing calls for the two-metre rule to be relaxed to help businesses.

    It follows warnings that parts of the leisure industry will not survive under current social distancing measures.

    Linda Bauld, professor of public health at Edinburgh University, has told BBC Scotland that the UK and Scottish governments are following a "cautious approach because the science is not exact on this".

    She said: "The bottom line is, the further away you are from someone, the less the risk of transmitting the virus."

    She says other countries have taken a different approach based on other guidelines, such as the compulsory wearing of face coverings.

  17. Call for furlough scheme to be extended beyond Octoberpublished at 07:00 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

    fiona hyslop

    Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop has called for a continuation of the UK government’s job retention scheme beyond October.

    Ms Hyslop said it was "vital that the UK has a long-term approach in place so we can offer certainty to individuals and businesses about what support will be available to them beyond October".

    In a letter to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak, the SNP minister pointed out that some sectors of the Scottish economy, such as tourism and hospitality, will not have fully recovered within the next four months.

    The UK government’s wages scheme, and support for the self employed, has assisted a total of 774,000 people in Scotland so far.

  18. First unemployment figures to cover the lockdown period due outpublished at 06:44 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

    people on streetImage source, Getty Images

    The first indication of the impact coronavirus has had on Scotland's jobs market is due to be published.

    The official Labour Market statistics will cover the three months to the end of April so will reflect the first full month of the lockdown period.

    Data published last month showed a huge increase in people claiming unemployment benefit in Scotland.

    The figures will not capture the impact of those in the UK government furlough scheme.

  19. Education, education, educationpublished at 06:33 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

    children in classrooomImage source, PA Media

    It was mainly about education on Monday. Here is what happened:

    • Nicola Sturgeon vowed that council planning for the new academic year would "maximise the time young people spend in a school environment" and suggested the amount of face-to-face teaching being propsed by some councils wasn't good enough
    • The EIS teachers union said a 50% target for in-school teaching would be hard to achieve.
    • Ms Sturgeon dismissed reports that blended learning would last a year
    • She said she hoped to confirm later this week that Scotland is ready to move into phase two of lockdown easing - although not all elements will kick in straight away
    • No new deaths were registered over the last 24 hours with the death toll remaining at 2,448
    • Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard urged an independent body to investigate whether the human rights of care home residents were violated during the Covid-19 crisis
    • EasyJet flights from Gatwick to Glasgow and Inverness touched down for the first time since lockdown
    • In football, Hearts began legal action after a proposal for league construction that would have saved the club from relegation failed to muster sufficient support

  20. Good morningpublished at 06:23 British Summer Time 16 June 2020

    social distancing sign in a shopImage source, Getty Images

    Welcome to Tuesday's live coverage of how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting Scotland.

    It's set to be a busy day with UK unemployment stats due out this morning - for the three months to April. This will include the first full month of lockdown.

    Concern continues to grow over the restart of education in Scotland. John Swinney is set to talk to a group of parents via video call this evening.

    Scottish ministers will today press the Treasury for further flexibility over cash to allow Scotland to combat the Covid-19 crisis.

    And of course we have the daily Scottish government briefing at 12:30.

    We will bring you this plus all the latest developments throughout the day.