Weekly Coronavirus death figures for Scotland will be published at noon

Last week’s NRS figures showed 49 deaths - an eighth consecutive weekly decline.

Overall the weekly National Record of Scotland figures are far higher than the daily figures published by Public Health Scotland.

This is because the NRS includes all cases where Covid-19 is mentioned on the death certificate, even if the patient had not been tested.

Image source, PA Media

The first minister says Scotland has “a genuine chance to come as close as it’s possible to get to eliminating the virus”, but warned against complacency.

There’ll also be figures showing how many people have been traced and told to self-isolate because they came into contact with someone who later tested positive.

Both sets of figures could inform whether or not the two-metre distancing rule is relaxed in certain circumstances – something Nicola Sturgeon will address tomorrow.

Kenneth Macdonald
BBC Scotland Science Correspondent

Image source, Heriot-Watt University

New solutions to the Covid-19 crisis in the care sector are being sought by a laboratory that's opening at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.

Its creators are confident it is the world's first laboratory studying assisted living that researchers can use remotely.

We all need help now and then, but people with physical and mental challenges need it much more, especially if they want to live independently.

Real life human helpers have been the norm until now but the coronavirus pandemic has changed things rapidly and radically.

Read more here.

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• 11.30pm: Westminster: Scottish Questions: You can watch this live here, external
• 12pm: Prime minister's questions: Follow live updates and watch live here

Forget the hype - what did we learn from the PM's speech?

'Boris the builder' outlines economic recovery plan

Councillors in Aberdeen have approved millions of pounds in cuts as part of an emergency budget in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

About £9.5m of departmental savings will have to be found as part of a package of measures.

The financial strategy approved by the urgent business committee will also see up to £14.6m earmarked for expanded childcare provision being redirected.

The council said it would try to limit the impact on frontline services.

Read more here.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

The Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh has reopened its doors to the public later this morning, in its 350th anniversary year.

There are a number of safety measures in place, such as hand sanitiser units, protection screens at reception and a visitors' online booking system.

The regius keeper at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Simon Milne, told Radio Scotland this is "it's an uplifting day" and a step towards normality.

Mr Milne says: "At all four gardens safety is at the very top of our list."

He calls on the public, once they have got a ticket online, to bring picnics and shopping bags, as there is "retail therapy as well as green therapy" in the shop.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

As the shops reopen and people gradually return to work, for those who've been shielding for the last few months it can be a daunting time to ease themselves back in to some kind of normality.

Wilma Laurie from Edinburgh, who has osteogenesis imperfecta, has been self-isolating at home with her assistance dog Belle since the beginning of March.

Ms Laurie told the Good Morning Scotland programme she found shielding difficult and found it hard initially to get access to online deliveries, having to rely on neighbours.

She told the programme about her first visit to the a shop in months on Monday with people patting Belle despite a note on her purple jacket asking them not to distract her.

The visit left Ms Laurie and and Belle both exhausted.

Image source, Getty Images

• 12pm: the National Records of Scotland will release the number of deaths linked to Covid-19
• 12.30pm: Nicola Sturgeon will lead the Scottish government's daily coronavirus briefing
• 11.30pm: Westminster: Scottish Questions
• 12pm: Prime minister's questions

An Aberdeen player has tested positive for Covid-19, the Premiership club has announced.

The Dons say the player is asymptomatic and has been self-isolating since receiving the test result.

A statement reads: "The club is satisfied that the regular testing regime, provided by The Aberdeen Clinic, together with the stringent hygiene and safety measures in place are working effectively."

Mornings with Kaye Adams
BBC Radio Scotland

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"The best way to stay safe from the virus is to sit on a beach somewhere where there aren't many cases - like Greece," says Simon Calder, travel editor at the Independent.

He is of the opinion that air bridges with other nations represents the UK government "reverse engineering out of a misguided policy".

But, right now, it is still unknown where people can travel to and from without the need to observe a 14-day quarantine.

"There are probably hundreds of thousands of Scots who have trips booked in July and August and have no idea of whether or not they will be permitted to do so by the UK government's double lock - that's advice against travelling anywhere in Europe - which we are expecting to lift - and the quarantine rules - which apply to everywhere at the moment, apart from Ireland," Mr Calder explains on BBC Radio Scotland.

"We were expecting news on Monday, then today, now it seems like tomorrow afternoon and it wouldn't surprise me if it got pushed to Friday.

"I've never known such uncertainty. And even when London says 'here's our list', Scotland can say 'we're not so sure, we've got our own list'.

"Confusion reigns, causing immense stress for people who are booked up and for all of those who work in the industry."

Image source, Getty Images

Passengers travelling between the UK and some countries will no longer have to quarantine, under the UK government's air bridges scheme.

The list of countries is expected to be announced tomorrow and will come into effect in England shortly.

However the Scottish government is considering its response to the idea of "air bridges" with other countries to allow people to holiday abroad without going into quarantine.

Ms Sturgeon said an announcement would be made in the coming days, after health advice has been considered.

She has said the Scottish government has no plans, right now, to introduce a quarantine period for visitors coming into Scotland from other parts of the UK.

• A heated debate over cross-border quarantine
• Quarantine starts for travellers entering Scotland
• What are the UK travel quarantine rules?
• What are air bridges and which countries can I go to?

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

Moving homeless people into hotels to protect them from Coronavirus was only ever a short term emergency measure, but charities say it clearly demonstrates what can be done in terms of getting people who sleep rough off the streets.

However, those same homeless organisations have told Good Morning Scotland the transition away from supported emergency hotel accommodation needs to be very carefully managed to not lose any of the ground which has been gained.

Charles Maasz, of Glasgow City Mission, said there had been two cases of coronavirus at its winter shelter before it closed.

"The potential for contagion where people are sleeping cheek by jowl in close quarters given the nature of the virus as we know it... you couldn't have people at close quarters like that, so isolation appropriate accommodation was essential.

"Where there is a will, there is a way", he added.

Alasdair Bennett, of the Bethany Christian Trust, said: "All of this is very fragile at the moment.

"It's very concerning to us - we need to act boldly to make sure this is sustained", he added.

Fiona Walker
BBC Scotland

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Scheduled heart and lung procedures, hip and knee replacements, cataracts, and a range of diagnostics tests are starting up again at the NHS Golden Jubilee hospital in Clydebank.

It is hoped the move will help accelerate treatment for patients whose planned care was put on hold during the coronavirus pandemic.

Across the country, more than 27,000 people have not been able to have their planned hospital treatments over the past 14 weeks, according to figures from Public Health Scotland comparing scheduled hospital admissions in that period with the average for 2018/2019.

In a pre-Covid world, the NHS grappled with long waiting lists.

Find out what coronavirus and a massive backlog means to procedures

Andrew Black
BBC Scotland Business Presenter

House prices in Scotland have been rising faster than anywhere else in the UK, according to data from the major building society Nationwide.

Prices were up 4% between April and June compared to the same time last year.

The reasons for that aren’t clear at the moment, but it’s good news given lockdown has had a big impact on the housing market.

But Nationwide’s UK-wide figures paint a much gloomier picture, with property values down 0.1% year-on-year - that’s the first time annual house price growth has gone negative since 2012.