Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

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After yesterday's announcement that the Up Helly Aa festival in Shetland will not go ahead in January 2021, the event's Guiser Jarl, Neil Moncrieff, has said it was a "difficult but in the end obvious decision" to cancel 2020's event.

He said people's health had to come first and they would not have been able to hold the event in the way they wanted to if there were any restrictions in place at all.

Speaking to Good Morning Scotland, he said it was not just about the day itself, but also about the build up which involves lots of hard work, planning, social and family events.

Mr Moncrieff said the decision would be a blow to the local economy but "there was no other option".

The first minister is expected to announce whether the country will follow England in relaxing its 2m social distancing rule this lunchtime.

The BBC's health correspondent Laura Foster, external helps explain the best ways keep 2m away from other people:

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BBC Radio Scotland

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"We are not in the business of policing" social distancing, a leading hotelier tells BBC Scotland, suggesting "to a certain degree, it is down to the public to be responsible".

Stephen Walker, director of sales and marketing at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, is among those hoping First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will announce this afternoon that the 2m rule will be reduced by half.

He points out that it will allow his various bars and restaurants, which are due to reopen on 1 August, to increase their capacity from 40-50% to 70-80%.

"We like to think the profile of our customers means they will be very responsible people," he says, suggesting people in Edinburgh appear to be abiding by the present 2m rule.

Mr Walker admits that, with no festival or tattoo in August this year, "it's going to be incredibly challenging" until his expected return to normal levels of business in February or March.

That means the city will also have to do without the kind of Christmas and new year festivities that attract worldwide visitors, although he hopes something can be created "for the residents of Edinburgh".

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There has been speculation that Nicola Sturgeon could make the wearing of face coverings in shops compulsory.

The first minister has repeatedly urged people to adopt the practice during lockdown, but it has remained advisory until now.

However the Scottish government did make it compulsory to wear a face covering on public transport.

Here's the BBC's guide to different types and step-by-step instructions on how to make them.

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School days should be extended so pupils in Scotland can catch up on lessons missed during the coronavirus lockdown, a think-tank has suggested.

The Commission on School Reform is calling for an extra six hours of teaching during the school week, with pupils staying later into the afternoon for two years.

A report by the group, made up of current and former headteachers, politicians and education professors concludes "there is an urgent need to plan for catch-up of the lessons lost".

With five months of in-school learning missed between lockdown and the anticipated return in August, the group set up by the Reform Scotland think-tank said the proposal for six extra hours of lessons was "feasible".

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

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TRNSMT festival boss Geoff Ellis has told Good Morning Scotland that the music industry needs government aid to support it through the pandemic.

Over a thousand artists have signed a letter to the UK government's Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden asking for help.

Across Scotland the industry supports an estimated 210,000 jobs.

He said the industry needed a "clear conditional timeline for reopening venues without social distancing. He added that a "comprehensive business and employment support package with access to finance", as well as an exemption from paying VAT on ticket sales.

He said this support package was required so that when the country came out of the epidemic there was still a live music industry. "If it all falls away, there won't be any touring or concerts and that would be a huge loss", he added.

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Nicola Sturgeon is expected to announce whether Scotland will follow England in relaxing its 2m social distancing rule.

The first minister is due to receive updated scientific advice which will form the basis of her decision.

Many pubs, restaurants and other businesses want the distance reduced before they reopen later this month.

There has also been speculation that the advice on wearing face coverings in public could be toughened.

Face coverings are currently only compulsory on public transport - with the Scottish government "strongly advising" that people also wear them in enclosed spaces such as shops.

Join us for extensive coverage of the announcements at the Scottish government daily briefing from 12.30pm.

• Read more here
• Is it safe to relax the 2m rule?
• 'Unpopular decisions' may be needed on coronavirus

Andrew Black
BBC Scotland Business Presenter

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Scottish pubs and restaurants say they’re ready to reopen safely if the first minister decides to relax the two-metre social distancing rule - possibly a move to the “one metre plus” policy being adopted in England.

Will Docker from farm shop business Balgove Larder in St Andrews operates a cafe and steak restaurant, but had to reinvent it as a delivery and takeaway business at the start of lockdown - an “agricultural Ocado” as he described it.

Will told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: “We’re using so much of our brain power to maintain two metres with staff and customers and that’s a huge draw on what we’re able to achieve in a day, so (relaxing the two-metre rule) would not only increase capacity considerably and safely, but it also would mean operating on a daily basis would be considerably easier.”

Balgove Larder converted part of its car park into an outside takeaway area at start of lockdown, and is now planning to use it for a outdoor eating area from 15 July.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

A possible easing of the strict two-metre social distancing rule has been welcomed by business leaders - but some experts remain unconvinced.

Prof Susan Michie, who is director of the Centre for Behaviour Change at University College London, told BBC Scotland a proposed one-metre rule would effectively make it worthless.

Andrew Black
BBC Scotland Business Presenter

Pub and restaurant owners in Scotland say a possible relaxation of the two-metre social distancing rule would be a big benefit to the industry, which has spent months closed in lockdown.

Pub and restaurant owner Toni Carbajosa is poised to reopen Glasgow’s biggest beer garden, at the Rotunda in Finnieston.

He told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “At one metre we can have double the capacity, so it would be huge for us.

“We’ve got an app so as you enter, you order from the app. We’ve put in place new measures for toilets and all the tables are two-metre distanced and entrances and exits are all managed.

“There’s been a lot of changes and a lot of plans put in place.”

As things stand, beer gardens and outdoor restaurants in Scotland can reopen from 6 July.

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BBC Radio Scotland

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Prof Jason Leitch said he was "a little bit concerned" at the news that the US is buying nearly all the next three months' projected production of Covid-19 treatment remdesivir from US manufacturer Gilead.

He told Good Morning Scotland: "We would much rather do drug purchasing in a fair and open way across Europe and across the UK", he said.

"That's how we usually do it - there are mechanisms in place for that."

He added that it was a relatively new drug being made by a company that there was little control over.

Prof Leitch added that the situation was being investigated and he thought there was "more to it" than what was being reported.

"We have some", he said, and added that this drug did not save lives but appeared to reduce the length of the illness.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

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Prof Leitch, told the programme that it was the "right choice" to cancel Shetland's Up Helly Aa festival.

Yesterday the announcement came that it would not go ahead in 2021 due to coronavirus concerns.

It had been due to take place in January, but will now not happen until the following year.

"We are worried about winter", Prof Leitch said.

He said another concern was that the event involved thousands of people descending on Shetland, where there was not a large amount of accommodation available.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

The Scottish government's National Clinical Director, Prof Jason Leitch, has told Good Morning Scotland that the "complex but small" cluster of coronavirus cases in the Dumfries and Galloway area and over the border in England includes people that work and live in different countries.

Prof Leitch said: "The public health test and protect system spotted a cluster... and put together that this looked like a set of cases that were all connected in some way."

He said it was more than one household and the cross-border aspect of the cluster which complicated matters. The nine individuals who have tested positive don't work in the one place.

"It is not at the stage where we are worried about community transmission", he added.

Health officials are working to trace contacts of a "cluster" of Covid 19 cases across south west Scotland and north west England.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway confirmed there had been nine new cases of coronavirus in the Gretna and Annan areas since Monday.

A cross-border incident management team has been put together with Health Protection Scotland and Public Health England.

The South of Scotland MSP, Colin Smyth, said the local community would be alarmed by this latest development

Sturgeon and Johnson at odds over lockdown quarantine and fears that Gaelic could die out make the front pages.

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The response to the coronavirus crisis will be "vital for defining the next decade", Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has warned.

The charity has reported a surge in the number of people seeking advice on redundancy, helping 907 people last week alone.

CAS social justice spokeswoman Mhoraig Green said: "This is a stark increase in demand for advice around redundancy, it's clear that the economic impact of Covid-19 is being felt now.

"The response from government in the weeks and months ahead will be vital for defining the next decade."

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

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An Arran resident has told Good Morning Scotland that due to limited ferry capacity his wife has to take a three-day trip for an urgent hospital appointment on the mainland.

John McFaull's wife needs to travel from the island to Kilmarnock for urgent tests due to a respiratory condition, but Mr McFaull says he has been unable to book a space on the ferry for the day of her appointment.

Instead, she is travelling out on the Tuesday morning ahead of her Wednesday appointment and returning on the Thursday evening.

Due to social distancing measures, ferry capacity is strictly limited.

CalMac insists that no ferries are full, and that 20% of capacity has been set aside for journeys like the one the McFaull's want to make.

They added that if a passenger travelling for an essential journey like this can't get their car on the ferry and can't use public transport, CalMac will pay for a taxi to the appointment and back to the terminal.