• One death with Covid-19 confirmed in last 24 hours
• This takes the total number of deaths with the virus to 2,491 deaths in Scotland by that measure
• 700 people in Scotland were estimated to be infectious last week
• The random testing of blood samples reveals less than 5% of Scots are likely to have had the virus
• The first minister announces shielding restrictions are to ease from tomorrow as new advice is published

• Mental health care for those leaving ICU having had Covid to be developed
• John Swinney confirms no physical distancing will be required for primary or secondary pupils in school or on school transport
• The education secretary also announces the creation of an £11.2m transitional fund to help the childcare sector and the hope that childcare ‘bubbles’ restrictions can be eased

Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, SNS

Younger children will not have to physically distance when schools return in August - but teachers will. Drivetime, which starts on BBC Radio Scotland at 16:00 BST, gauges reaction to that latest suggestion today by the Scottish government.

One family has concerns about school buses being treated as "an extension to the school estate", while the programme hears from an international swimmer who wonders why the government prioritised opening pubs and shops ahead of swimming pools.

Host John Beattie will also examine the plight of young people amid rising unemployment resulting from the Covid-19 crisis - and the relaxation of rules governing those who are shielding.

Meanwhile, health correspondent Lisa Summers has been speaking to two doctors who wrote to the team carrying out an independent review into Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital but who would like some of the review to be retracted.

"The future for care in Scotland should provide intensive and preventative support in order to keep families together where safe to do so," says education secretary John Swinney as he announces a £4m investment into the ‘Promise Fund’ to "make early progress".

"Where this is not possible, the alternative should provide children with a loving home with positive systems, processes and culture."

Mr Swinney says creative thinking will be required to deliver the vision, along with acceptance that "current practice has got to change and be reformed".

"It's not a given there's going to be a vaccine" for Covid-19, warned Dr Chris Smith of the Naked Scientist group at Cambridge University.

That's despite what he described as "positive noises" from the work being carried out by Prof Sarah Gilbert's group at the Jenner Institute at Oxford University.

Dr Smith explained to be BBC Radio Scotland that the group had "repurposed a vaccine construct that they used or developed initially to combat Ebola and they've turned it into a vaccine for the new coronavirus".

The group had manipulated a chimpanzee cold virus to mimic the coronavirus and, when monkeys in a trial were infected with coronavirus, their symptoms were more mild.

Humans given the vaccine seemed to be creating an immune response, do appear to be making antibody and crucially are making immune cells in reaction to this.

However, Dr Smith explained that the real test was whether it would work for humans when infected and this is being trialled in South Africa and Brazil, where there are presently higher levels of infection.

Random testing of blood samples between April and June reveal that 4.3% had coronavirus antibodies.

Jamie McIvor
BBC Scotland education correspondent

It still hasn’t been confirmed that school pupils will return full-time in August.

However, the indications are that this is looking increasingly likely.

Teachers will want to know about the practicalities of ensuring there is social distancing between adults and young people – and between adults including teachers, administrative staff, janitors and catering staff.

Although teachers will be returning from 11 August, the exact date children will go back to school will vary.

If a full-time return is announced, it may take a few days after the holidays before every student is actually back.

Quite apart from practicalities, there is an argument that it may be better for specific groups to return on different days: for example, this could help new first year students in secondaries who missed out on normal transition arrangements.

The fact social distancing would not be required on school transport will help alleviate a potential problem, especially in rural areas. But some pupils do, of course, use normal public transport all across the country.

Holyrood Live
BBC Parliaments

Image source, Getty Images

The Scottish government will now deliver a statement entitled The Care Promise.

You can watch the statement with Scottish Parliament TV here, external.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard wants a guarantee on the quality of any future job guarantee scheme. He would like to see employers agree to paying the real living wage.

Fiona Hyslop says she believes in the real living wage, saying it is important to make it a "bedrock of what we want to offer", but adds that she does not want to preempt what is to come in the implementation plan.

Maurice Golden welcomes the extension of existing schemes but is worried that they do not do enough to cover the sectors that have been hardest hit, which he says is a result of the SNP's "lack of business understanding".

The Scottish Conservative economy spokesman cited media reports of English holidaymakers cancelling trips to Scotland over fears of the need to quarantine.

He asked for specifics on support for tourism and wanted an assurance that visitors from England would be be welcomed.

Ms Hyslop accused the Conservative MSP of spreading "doom and gloom", saying we need confidence for the tourism sector.

"We have suppressed the virus to a level where you can be confident that you are coming to a place that is safe," she says. The minister highlighted a video promoting Orkney with the message that it wants to welcome people to see the best of the islands while showing the best of themselves.

She adds that she would like to see the chancellor using a targeted extension of the furlough scheme to assist areas like tourism.

Image source, Getty Images

People who are "shielding" in Scotland are to be allowed to stay in holiday accommodation and visit outdoor markets and gardens, in a change to advice.

Nicola Sturgeon said virus restrictions for the most vulnerable group are to be eased from Friday.

This will allow these people to go out more, and for couples who do not live together to meet up without distancing.

And the first minister said it was hoped the need for shielding could be paused entirely at the end of July.

There are about 180,000 people shielding in Scotland.

Read more here.

Image source, bbc

"We are facing unemployment on a scale not seen since the 1980s," says Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop in response to another jump in the jobless figures.

She tells parliament that the government will rise to the challenge but meeting it will require a national effort.

"There is no monopoly on good ideas", Ms Hyslop adds, stressing her desire wants to work constructively with all other political parties.

"We are passionately committed to building a wellbeing economy for Scotland," she says. "One that is environmentally sustainable, supports local communities, enables businesses to thrive and innovate, provide good jobs and fair work and delivers inclusive growth."

You can watch the statement from Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop here, external.

Due to technical issues with the virtual stream from the Scottish Parliament you cannot watch the statement here on the live page.

• One death with Covid-19 confirmed in last 24 hours
• This takes the total number of deaths with the virus to 2,491 deaths in Scotland by that measure
• 700 people in Scotland were estimated to be infectious last week
• The random testing of blood samples reveals less than 5% of Scots are likely to have had the virus
• The first minister announces shielding restrictions are to ease from tomorrow as new advice is published
• Mental health care for those leaving ICU having had Covid to be developed
• John Swinney confirms no physical distancing will be required for primary or secondary pupils in school or on school transport
• The education secretary also announces the creation of an £11.2m transitional fund to help the childcare sector and the hope that childcare ‘bubbles’ restrictions can be eased

Holyrood Live
BBC Parliaments

Image source, Getty Images

Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop will now give a statement on today's labour market statistics.

Unemployment in Scotland rose between March and May as the impact of lockdown was felt, official figures indicate, external.

Scotland's unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in the period, a 0.6% increase on the previous quarter. This was higher than the UK unemployment rate of 3.9%.

Scots seeking jobs was up by 15,000 to 120,000. Twice as many left jobs and were not looking for new work.

You can watch the economy secretary's statement here on this live page with us.

Read more here.

Derek Healey from the Courier moves on to ask about the challenges Scotland will face this winter and whether they will have an impact on schools staying open.

The first minister replies getting schools open on a full time basis is predicated on keeping the levels of virus low.

If there is a resurgence of the first wave or a second wave in the winter then different considerations will come to the fore again, she points out.

Dr Nicola Steedman accepts there could be greater risks in winter and the government is planning accordingly, especially as the virus prefers the cold inside.

Theoretically coronvavirus could hang around on surfaces for longer and generally respiratory viruses are more common, meaning more people will need to be tested, the deputy chief medical officer adds.

She strongly urges people who are eligible for the flu vaccine to "please, please take it up".

Scotland is already "planning on the basis of a vaccine being available", interim deputy chief medical officer Dr Nicola Steedman has revealed.

She points out that latest reports suggest one could even be available around October, she says: "A safe and effective vaccine is what we all want."

Dr Steedman points out that Scotland is at the heart of developments, with Glasgow and Edinburgh universities involved in the Oxford University project to develop a vaccine.

"We need to put things in place well in advance for that in order to be ready as soon as a safe and effective vaccine comes along," he says.

"We are starting on a good footing. We have a very good immunisation programme generally across Scotland - we have the highest rates of childhood immunisation across the UK along with Northern Ireland.

"We need to substantially upscale this and we are establishing a vaccine programme board to oversee that as we speak."

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Imperial College

Scott Macnab, from The Scotsman, points out that reports in the last 24 hours indicate increasing optimism about the prospect of a vaccine maybe being available by the end of this year or early next year.

He asks about the planning being undertaken for distribution in Scotland when a vaccine finally arrives, wonders if specific groups might be targeted and if it will be compulsory.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says "my heart soars" every time she reads about a possible vaccine but stresses that "we remain cautious" as vaccine development is "very complex".

"The decisions we would take would flow to some extent from the nature and the amount of vaccine we had available," she says. "We have not taken any decisions at the moment."

However, she suggests that the elderly and people in shielded groups would be obvious groups to prioritise.

She once again points out that "I suspect we are a wee bit off" reaching the level of eliminating the vaccine in Scotland "but we are very close to it".