That’s all from us on the latest coronavirus developments in Scotland for Wednesday 5 August.

Here are today’s biggest headlines:

• Lockdown restrictions have been reimposed in Aberdeen due to a coronavirus cluster in the city.
• Weekly data published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) shows that deaths from Covid-19 in Scotland remain at low levels, despite a rise in excess deaths.
• Nearly 400 jobs are to go at M&Co, the Renfrewshire-based clothing retailer. Meanwhile, WH Smith is considering cutting 1,500 jobs and William Hill says 119 of its betting shops will not re-open.
• Scotland's education secretary has rejected claims that bright pupils from deprived areas were unfairly penalised by the country's exam system.
• Pupils will have a phased return to schools in Edinburgh during and after the first week of the new term, the city council has confirmed.
• The UK's biggest pantomime producer has started cancelling its 2020 shows, including in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, amid ongoing uncertainty about when theatres will be able to reopen fully.

We'll be back in the morning. Have a good evening and stay safe.

Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

The number of positive cases stemming from the Aberdeen outbreak is "likely" to increase over the next few days, the interim chief medical officer has said.

As of today 54 people have tested positive in relation to this cluster.

Dr Gregor Smith told Drivetime that not all of these cases are people living within the city.

He also said he would be "very surprised" if there were no further outbreaks elsewhere in Scotland.

Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

An Aberdeen councillor has suggested the outbreak in the city is in part due to confusion around the guidelines.

Cllr Marie Bolton, who convenes the city's licensing board, told Drivetime that officials were engaging with businesses and encouraging compliance.

But she added: "I don't think Aberdeen's alone in finding themselves, perhaps, a bit confused with some of the guidance that's been issued."

In particular, Ms Bolton pointed to confusion around when to wear face masks and the distance people should be keeping between one another. "There's lots of different things where people are saying, 'should I be doing this, shouldn't I be doing that?'," she said.

Katie McEvinney
BBC Scotland News

Image source, Contributors

When Luke Robertson, 16, from Motherwell opened his exams results on Tuesday, the scramble of letters on the page wasn't what he had hoped for.

"It just doesn't make sense to me," Luke said. "I got a B in my physics prelim but the SQA gave me a C. I feel annoyed with them".

He had been predicted to achieve mostly As by his teachers and had been assured by them that his final grades would not be lower than his prelim performance.

But like many pupils across Scotland, Luke said he was "disappointed and shocked" by the surprise grades and now felt uncertain about the future.

Read more.

Image source, CAPITAL THEATRES/QDOS

The UK's biggest pantomime producer has started cancelling its 2020 shows amid ongoing uncertainty about when theatres will be able to reopen fully.

Qdos has put this year's festive shows in Aberdeen, Belfast, Edinburgh and Southampton back to 2021.

The operator of the King's Theatre in Edinburgh said the move would result in "the massive loss of £2.3m at the worst possible time for the theatres".

Read more.

Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, SQA

A petition urging the SQA to reevaluate this year's exam results has garnered over 20,000 signatures in a day.

Thousands of Scottish pupils received worse results than expected yesterday after the country's exam body lowered 125,000 estimated grades.

School pupil Sarah McLauchlan started the petition calling for each student to be looked at independently, rather than having their school's historic attainment data taken into account.

"This isn't just me and a small group of friends trying to kick up a fuss. It is affecting thousands of people," she told BBC Drivetime.

She said the SQA had assumed teachers had overestimated pupils' grades instead of investigating.

"They had no exams. So why, instead of using that time to give more accurate results, did they use a system that really didn't reflect any student personally?" she asked.

The SQA said its moderation process had ensured "fairness to all learners" and maintained "standards and credibility" in the qualification system.

The Aberdeen and Shire Licensed Trade Association has described the reimposition of restrictions as “very disappointing”.

President of the association Mike Kinnaird said the sector was “worked tirelessly” to put in place various measures to allow venues to open safely.

He added: “The Shire members are also concerned. This is a major problem for restaurants who have taken in food and staff... It’s very disappointing.”

An Aberdeen delivery driver shows disbelief after encountering a busy pub just hours before bars close indefinitely.

Image source, AFP

Pupils will have a phased return to schools in Edinburgh during and after the first week of the new term, the city council has confirmed.

Primary and secondary staff will be at work on Monday and Tuesday next week, with some pupils back from Wednesday.

There will then be a gradual return until all pupils are be back in class by Monday 17 August.

The Scottish government has said it hoped all pupils would be in school by 11 August.

Read more.

Image source, Getty Images

Thousands of firms and employees are seeking redundancy advice as the coronavirus crisis continues to bite into the UK economy.

Conciliation service Acas said calls to its redundancy advice line almost tripled in June and July, as concerns mounted about the government's job retention scheme winding down.

There has been a spate of redundancies as some firms struggle to stay afloat.

Nearly 4,500 jobs have been cut only a few days into August.

Read more.

Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

A partial lockdown in Aberdeen after a cluster of 54 coronavirus cases was announced by the first minister today.

John Beattie will be speaking to the businesses having to close the shutters for at least seven days.

Tune in on BBC Radio Scotland or the play icon above.

Also on the programme:

• One school pupil starts a petition to encourage the SQA to reevaluate this year's exam results.
• The family of a woman receiving palliative care in a Glasgow hospice is appealing to the Scottish government to change the rules on visiting.

Douglas Fraser
Scotland business & economy editor

Image source, PA Media

Planning rules are to be revised and applications handled more swiftly, to reduce obstacles to business investment.

That is one of a wide-ranging set of Scottish government policies to help economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.

The other measures include:

• a Transition Training Fund, to help people being made redundant
• making greater use of technology to aid smaller companies who find it hard to secure government procurement contracts
• new focus on regions including £10m for improving the economy along the River Clyde
• a "cultural collective", allowing freelance performers to work on new projects and help them through the shutdown of theatres
• £50m job guarantee fund to help young people (but no detail on how it will work)

Business groups have welcomed many of the measures, but say there must be swift action as well as policy development. Environmental campaigners complain the plans do not go far enough in helping make homes more energy efficient. The Westminster plan for home improvement grants is not being applied in Scotland, though there are some funds already available.

Following an increase in coronavirus cases in Aberdeen, local restrictions on travel, indoor gatherings between households and the closure of indoor and outdoor hospitality are being introduced in the Aberdeen City local authority area.

From 5pm today bars, restaurants, cafes and pubs will be required by law to close. Hotel restaurants can remain open to provide food for existing guests, and takeaway services can continue.

People in Aberdeen City are asked not to meet other households indoors or travel more than five miles for leisure or recreational purposes.

People can continue to travel for work, or education purposes. Visiting in hospitals and care homes will return to essential visits only.

The restrictions come as NHS Grampian have reported there are now 54 positive cases of Covid-19 in the cluster associated with the Hawthorn Bar in Aberdeen.

A total of 191 close contacts have been traced through Test & Protect.

More than 20 licensed premises have now been identified as being linked to people who have subsequently tested positive and the outbreak is linked to the night time economy.

Ben Philip
BBC Scotland

Councillor Jenny Laing, the co-leader of Aberdeen City Council, said the renewed restrictions in the city were "unfortunate" just as a degree of normality was returning after the initial coronavirus pandemic.

But she said "the safety of our citizens remains our first priority".

Image source, Aberdeen City Counil

The council's other co-leader, Councillor Douglas Lumsden, said: "It’s really disappointing that we’re having to take a backwards step.

“However, looking at the data from NHS Grampian and looking ahead to the schools re-opening next week, I think it’s the right thing to do.

“We had a meeting with the first minister this morning and we were all in full agreement on the route we’ve taken today...

"And in terms of lockdown, we don’t want this to continue any longer than it needs to. It will be reviewed again in seven days' time and hopefully we can come out of these temporary lockdown measures next week.”

Image source, Getty Images

Restrictions to deal with new coronavirus outbreaks have been imposed in parts of Europe since lockdowns were eased.

So what are these measures and how do they compare in different countries?

Our explainer looks at Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Greece and Ireland.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Welcome if you're just joining us. Here are the latest UK headlines this lunchtime.

• Lockdown restrictions are being reimposed in Aberdeen due to a coronavirus cluster in the city
• The UK made a “serious mistake” over its coronavirus border policy, a group of MPs has said
• Schools should be the last places to shut in future lockdowns, after non-essential shops, pubs and restaurants, according to England's children's commissioner
• People from ethnic minority backgrounds in Britain "face greater barriers" when trying to protect themselves from coronavirus, according to a report
• Further job losses have been announced, including by high street chain WH Smith, which is planning to cut 1,500 jobs - 11% of its workforce - after lockdown caused sales to plummet
• Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic has warned it could run out of money next month, a UK court has heard
• And coronavirus lockdown measures triggered a surge in TV watching and online streaming in the UK

NHS Grampian also say Aboyne Golf Club, Deeside Golf Club, Hazlehead Golf Club and Banks O Dee Football Club are linked.

Image source, PA Media

The Scottish Tourism Alliance and UK Hospitality have called Aberdeen's new lockdown restrictions a "devastating blow" to hospitality businesses who have invested significant amounts of money in reopening.

The two bodies released a statement saying that Aberdeen serves as an example of how quickly the virus can reignite and illustrates the immediate impact that this has on a local economy and public health.

It said: "Today’s news comes as a shock and should serve as a reminder that disregarding these guidelines has almost immediate consequences, however we must also recognise that many people and businesses are enjoying the easing of restrictions in a safe way that poses little threat to public safety."

They also said that further sector specific financial support would be required.

Police in Aberdeen said they will have additional patrols in areas where local restrictions have been introduced.

Deputy Chief Constable Will Kerr said officers will continue to engage, educate and encourage people to comply with the guidelines.

But they will not hesitate to take enforcement action where appropriate, he said.

“As a national service, Police Scotland is able to quickly flex capacity to support local communities across the country, and we will provide whatever additional resources are necessary to protect and support the communities affected," he said.

DCC Kerr said the majority of the public followed the law and Scottish government advice during the pandemic.

"I realise that this situation will be frustrating for people in the affected area but it’s really important that we all continue to do so," he said.