At 12pm today the National Records of Scotland will publish its weekly figure showing how many people have died linked to Covid-19.

Last Wednesday's NRS figures showed that up until 14 June there were 4,070 deaths registered in Scotland.

The NRS figure is higher than the daily figure because they include all cases where Covid-19 is mentioned on a death certificate, even if the patient had not been tested.

The PHS figures are based on the deaths of those who had tested positive for the virus.

The first coronavirus death in Scotland was reported by NHS Lothian on 13 March.

Mornings with Kaye Adams
BBC Radio Scotland

Ian Rankin tells Kaye: "Some families can keep in touch on Zoom and that kind of thing, but two dimensional images don't mean anything to Kit - he can't process them. That wasn't working frustratingly, so when staff said we could look over the wall or peer through the gate, he understood he was in the same space as us."

The author adds: "I don't think the lockdown has affected him that much. People have been with him 24/7 - the staff have been amazing. I think it is harder sometimes on the family than the individual with special needs."

Mr Rankin was speaking about the support he has received from Kindred Advocacy, a charity celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Director Sophie Pilgrim says it has set up a Facebook group to help parents share their experiences during lockdown and adds: "We have a lot of families who are shielding their children and they are having to make decisions about at what point does shielding become detrimental to that child and their development and where do they start to re-engage with normal life again."

Mornings with Kaye Adams
BBC Radio Scotland

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Author Ian Rankin has been unable to to hug his son Kit for four months because of the Covid-19 crisis and tells BBC Radio Scotland that: "This lockdown has been really hard on families with special needs children and adults if they are shielding."

Kit has Angelman syndrome, a genetic condition that affects the nervous system and causes severe physical and learning disabilities.

"Our son's in a facility in Edinburgh and we weren't able to see him for the first few weeks until they relaxed restrictions a bit and we could peer over the wall if the weather was nice and he could sit in the garden," Mr Rankin says.

"He is not allowed to be with the other young adults in the facility. They are all shielding in their individual bedrooms and allowed out for a short period of time.

"They were the first to go into lockdown and will be the last to come out. Necessarily so, but it is just one of these things that people with special needs are going through that maybe aren't get mentioned in the press as much as other issues."

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Health leaders are calling for an urgent review to determine whether the UK is properly prepared for the "real risk" of a second wave of coronavirus.

In an open letter published in the British Medical Journal, external, ministers were warned that urgent action would be needed to prevent further loss of life.

The presidents of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons, Nursing, Physicians, and GPs all signed the letter.

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The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh has warned that there could be a "gaping hole" in the provision of surgery in the future as a result of the pandemic.

It is calling for the government to make sure trainee surgeons will be given the same access to training in private hospitals as they would in the NHS if private facilities are used to help clear the backlog caused by coronavirus.

Senior surgeons are concerned that as a result trainee surgeons will be denied training opportunities and the practical experience needed to progress their surgical development.

Professor Michael Griffin OBE, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, said: “Trainee surgeons have lost out on months of surgical training during the pandemic as elective operations have been postponed, with many having been redeployed to non-surgical workplaces over the last few months.

“It’s absolutely vital that as elective surgical procedures start to resume, trainees are given the opportunity of first-hand training in order to gain the experience they need to allow them to join the surgical workforce.

“Not only will this allow us to work our way through the backlog of operations more effectively, with trainee surgeons carrying out the kind of routine operations that are likely to take place in private hospitals, it will also safeguard the future of the NHS and the surgical profession."

Mornings with Kaye Adams
BBC Radio Scotland

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The Scottish government's switch to make bringing pupils back to schools full-time in August its priority is "a victory for parent power", according to the co-leader of East Dunbartonshire Council.

Education Secretary John Swinney said yesterday the decision to make blended learning a contingency rather than the main focus was guided by the science and the continued decrease in Scotland's Covid-19 infection rate.

"Such a change within 10 days seems a bit bizarre to me," Conservative councillor Andrew Polson tells BBC Radio Scotland. "Ten days ago, John Swinney said blended learning would be in place for possibly a year and now there's a screeching U-turn yesterday.

"I have to say the proposals John Swinney was trying to deliver as education secretary were not only unacceptable but were unworkable and parents realised that. I sit on parent boards and they were not having it.

"Last week, a Facebook page was set up and within days gathered 10,000 people who were parents and were concerned about the welfare and education of their children."

From 12.20pm Nicola Sturgeon will reveal some more dates for easing the lockdown.

Here's what we know at the moment:

1. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Phase 2: Scotland’s route map update, external

• BBC Scotland story: Lockdown rules in Scotland: What can you do in phase two - and when?

And here's some other useful information and advice:

2. Test and Protect, external

If you have Covid-19 symptoms go immediately to NHS Inform online or phone 0800 028 2816 to book a test

3. NHS Inform, external

4. Coronavirus (COVID-19): shielding support and contacts, external

5. Support for those at high COVID-19 risk:, external

The helpline is 0800 111 4000

7. Clear Your Head, external: It's ok to not feel yourself right now, here's some great tips to help get you through it.people through the pandemic.

Holyrood Live
BBC Parliaments

Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee

Jonnie Hall of the NFU says the call to furloughed workers to help farms in lieu of seasonal workers not coming to Scotland largely came to nothing.

He says while many people expressed an initial interest, an "awful lot" did not follow through on making themselves available.

However the sector has worked with Public Health Scotland on a way around the quarantine rules placed on new arrivals to the UK.

Mr Hall explains units of workers have been able to be quarantined together, enabling them to work on a farm.

Mornings with Kaye Adams
BBC Radio Scotland

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Reaction to the Scottish government's decision to aim to bring pupils back into schools full-time in August will be mixed among parents, Joanna Murphy tells BBC Radio Scotland.

The chair of National Parent Forum Of Scotland says: "Parents are not a big homogeneous group all wanting the same thing. There are lots of parents who are feeling pleased, or feeling relaxed, or feeling anxious."

While pointing out that there were concerns about the blended learning provision being planned by some councils, Ms Murphy thinks it is good that local authorities still have those as a contingency and hopes they keep preparing and improving them in case they are still needed.

"It is seven weeks until the schools go back and I am very much of the opinion that we should hope for the best but plan for the worst and all of the contingency plans that have been made will hopefully never be used," she adds.

"If the public health advice is good in August, it is great news to hear that we are in such a good place in Scotland down to our hard work as individuals. We need to keep that hard work going and schools are a part of that."

Scientists are investigating whether searches for particular medical problems could be used to predict a second spike in cases of Covid-19.

In the UK, searches for loss of taste and smell were peaking before lockdown, and long before those symptoms were announced as being linked to the disease.

Our colleague Spencer Kelly from BBC's Click finds out more.

Holyrood Live
BBC Parliaments

Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee

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Scotland's food and drink sector is expected to take a £3bn hit in 2020, the representative body has said.

James Withers from Scotland Food and Drink explains this figure is on the optimistic side compared to other economists' predictions, and it is based on a gradual unwinding of restrictions.

Jonnie Hall of the National Farmers Union tells Holyrood's rural economy committee the impact on farmers had been varied, depending on their supply chain and the availability of workers to harvest produce.

Agriculture has largely been able to keep going throughout the pandemic, but Mr Hall agrees with previous comments about a lack of clarity on guidance.

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Scotland's first minister is to give an update on the timescale for easing the country's lockdown restrictions.

The statement by Nicola Sturgeon is expected to include dates for when some further parts of the economy can open.

Join us from 12.20pm to watch or listen to the statement and for extensive coverage and reaction to what the first minister announces.

Ms Sturgeon said she was able to do outline dates for specific measures earlier than originally planned because of the country's success in suppressing the virus.

Scotland formally moved to the second phase of its four-phase lockdown easing plan last week.

Ms Sturgeon will now provide more information about the timing of some of the specific steps.

• Read more here
• Scotland not yet ready to relax 2m distance rule
• What's changing in Scotland - and when?

Mornings with Kaye Adams
BBC Radio Scotland

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Teachers are "generally pleased" about the Scottish government's plan to bring children back to school full-time in August, but anxiety has been caused by the "sudden change of heart" - as well as concern for their own safety, a trades union official suggests.

English teacher Mike Corbett, who is also on the NSUWT Scotland national executive, points out on BBC Radio Scotland that the government's scientific adviser had long said it might be possible to return pupils full-time as long as teachers were regularly tested for Covid-19.

"A lot of teachers are asking - are we going to be tested regularly?" he says. "There is an awful lot to sort out on the safety side of things.

"We are interested in what the scientific evidence and background is. The local authority I work for was aiming for a 50% model for primary and a 33% blended learning for secondaries, so suddenly facing instead of 9-10 kids in a class back up to 30-33 is a big difference in terms of pupil movement around the school, standards of cleaning, use of toilets, etc."

Mr Corbett has relatives in Netherlands and points out that, although social distancing between pupils has ended there, there is still social distancing of one-and-a-half metres between children and adults in school.

Image source, BBC/World of Wonder

When Alan Lambie and Finlay Wilson got engaged last summer, they dreamed of tying the knot a year later.

All the arrangements for their wedding on 7 June were in place - until coronavirus struck, and their plans fell apart.

But then came an offer they couldn't refuse - a virtual "ceremony" conducted by TV personality and star of RuPaul's Drag Race Michelle Visage, to mark what should have been their big day.

Image source, BBC/World of Wonder

Although they couldn't get legally married due to coronavirus restrictions, the happy couple were delighted to declare their commitment to one another.

Alan and Finlay's big day is featured in an upcoming episode of How's Your Head, Hun?, which is available on BBC iPlayer.

Holyrood Live
BBC Parliaments

Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee

Elspeth Macdonald tells MSPs the fish catching sector has been significantly hit by this pandemic, with the impact on the shellfish fleet the worst of all and prawn fleets only catching about half what they usually would.

The Scottish Fisherman's Federation representative explains this is due to a reliance on hospitality and food supply sectors.

In contrast, Julie Hesketh-Laird says the salmon sector has been able to continue "pretty resiliently".

Sales in the UK have actually seen a slight uptick, but exports have been badly hit, the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation spokeswoman says.

She suggests once passenger flights resume there will be an increase in exports.

Jimmy Buchan adds the hospitality sector needs to move before the seasfood sector is likely to see any real movement.

The Scottish Seafood Association spokesman also says there was a lack of clear guidance for food producers at the start of lockdown, leading to many shutting down operations when the needn't have because firms were unsure if they were key workers.