Chris McLaughlin
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, SNS

An Aberdeen player has tested positive for coronavirus after the city was locked down due to a cluster of cases.

Restrictions were imposed on Wednesday, with the number of new cases in the city having risen to 79 - with more expected in the coming days.

The Scottish government had said that the lockdown will not impact Aberdeen's Premiership visit to play St Johnstone in Perth on Saturday.

That is because football clubs "are operating within a sporting bubble".

Read more here

Ben Philip
BBC Scotland

Neil Glover, owner of the Figment Cafe in Aberdeen, says having to close again is “devastating” for his business.

He feels a sense of injustice that a “blanket approach” has been taken to close all pubs, restaurants and cafes and believes it should have been more specific.

Mr Glover said he has had to go back to doing takeaway only, but as of this lunchtime, he hasn’t sold any food items at a time when the fridges were fully stocked for #EatOutHelpOut, external.

He said takings were down more than 50% over the lockdown period and he is not sure how many more “knocks” he can take.

Image source, Bill Harrison/Geograph

If you are just joining us, the number of coronavirus cases linked to an outbreak in Aberdeen has increased to 79 - with more expected in the coming days.

Lockdown restrictions were imposed in the city on Wednesday after the number of cases in the cluster rose to 54.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said an additional 25 cases had been confirmed since then.

A further 30 cases are being investigated to see if they are linked, while 233 contacts have been traced.

More than 228,000 people living in the city have been told they should not enter each other's homes or travel more than five miles for leisure - and should not go on holiday.

Read the full story here

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Here's a round-up of some of the main coronavirus developments in Scotland and beyond today.

• Aberdeen has woken up to its first full day in local lockdown after cases from a coronavirus cluster rose sharply. But the Scottish health secretary says the "trigger case" which caused the city’s Covid cluster has yet to be identified
• The UK economic slump caused by Covid-19 will be less severe than expected, but the recovery will also take longer, the Bank of England has said
• Fifty million face masks bought by the UK government in April will not be used in the NHS because of safety concerns. The government says the masks, which use ear-loop fastenings rather than head loops, may not fit tightly enough

• Elsewhere, France, Spain and Greece were among the European countries to record marked increases in new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, fuelling fears of a second spike in infections during the holiday season
• Facebook and Twitter have penalised Donald Trump and his campaign for posts they said contained "harmful Covid misinformation", after the US president claimed children were "almost immune" to coronavirus

• A fire has broken out at a hospital for coronavirus patients in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, killing eight people, officials say
• Lockdown restrictions on non-essential businesses have taken effect in the Australian state of Victoria, the epicentre of the country’s Covid-19 outbreak

The first minister has urged Aberdonians not to go on holiday in Scotland or abroad at this time, following a further rise in positive coronavirus cases.

A local lockdown for the city came into force yesterday after a cluster of cases implicating 28 licensed venues was confirmed.

There are now 79 cases linked to the cluster, with 30 more under investigation. The first minister said a further increase is expected.

In addition:

• Across Scotland, a further 67 positive tests were announced. Of these, 39 were in the Grampian health board area.
• 17 cases were in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area, on top of the 15 announced yesterday. Local health teams are investigating whether there is any link between them.
• No deaths following a positive test result have been registered in the last 24 hours, for the 21st consecutive day.
• The first minister encouraged young people not happy with their grades to appeal them, insisting the SQA was sufficiently resourced for this. She admitted she would have felt "aggrieved" if she was in their position.

The Daily Mail suggests there may be 124,000 appeals for the SQA to consider, asking about extra resource. The journalist also asks if this model of moderation will be the standby for next year in case exams cannot go ahead again.

The first minister said next year's approach will be "considered in the fullness of time".

Regarding the SQA, she insists the body has already ensured it will have sufficient resources.

Image source, SQA

The first minister highlights the appeal deadlines:

• 14 August for those due to begin university in September
• 21 August for all other appeals
• 4 September for the SQA to send grades to schools

Dan Sanderson from the Daily Telegraph says that Ms Sturgeon's old school, Greenwood Academy, got just 23% of pupils with five or more Highers last year - far below the national average.

He asks how she would have felt if her results had been downgraded because of the historic performance of the school, and would she have protested against it?

"Very possibly," she says.

She adds: "I totally understand the way young people who feel they have been unfairly treated will feel.

"Every single year there will be young people who will be disappointed, but usually they will have sat an exam." She says this would normally provide some sort of "benchmark".

Image source, Billy McCrorie/Geograph

Ms Sturgeon says: "If you are young person whose teacher has estimated one grade and you have got a lower grade, you are going to feel very aggrieved about that.

"if I had been in that position, I would feel aggrieved about that."

Ms Sturgeon adds: "If I was standing here saying 'that's tough, accept it' then that anger would, quite rightly, be even greater. But I'm not saying that."

She says young people can appeal and have their individual circumstances looked at.

"If you have been treated unfairly, that will be rectified by this process," she says.

Image source, EPA

The Times raises the SQA moderation method, suggesting it seems to be the case that where there was no extra information, a teacher's grade was accepted at face value. Does this mean diligent teachers who kept records were more likely to have their estimates moderated?

Ms Sturgeon replies this is not the conclusion she would draw.

She points out the pass rate overall is up, including for pupils from deprived areas, urging people not to "lose sight" of this because of "individual concerns".

Image source, bbc

A question from The Herald asks about the age profile of those who have tested positive in Aberdeen.

Chief medical officer Dr Gregor Smith says: "Although we are seeing a very strong signal for younger age groups testing positive for this, it is important to say that it is not solely younger age groups.

"The age ranges we are seeing, both in this outbreak and others around the country, still involve older people as well."

Dr Smith says older people are more at risk and he would not like people to think it was just young people sparking this outbreak.

The first minister is asked about support for businesses in Aberdeen affected by the new lockdown restrictions.

She says those that brought staff out of furlough can put them back into the scheme so that their wages will be paid by the government. Although, she says that once the scheme ends in October, that will not be possible.

Ms Sturgeon says she is discussing further support for Aberdeen immediately and in the longer term.

"We have not come to a conclusion on that yet," she says. "When we reach decisions on that, we will set them out as usual."

The Daily Record points to pupil "anger" over the downgrading of results by the SQA and asks if the first minister will step in to ensure grades are based on teacher judgement.

"No, I won't do that because I don't think that would be the right thing either," replies Ms Sturgeon.

She says she sympathises with the young people this affects and urges them to consider appealing, as this will ensure their individual circumstances are looked at and teachers can put forward further evidence.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, pa

Original 106 highlights extra police officers have been sent to Aberdeen to enforce the lockdown.

Have the police explained why they have not played a bigger role in preventing crowds in the first place, and will more officers be sent to Aberdeenshire as well, the journalist asks.

Ms Sturgeon accepts the police have an important role to play, but every time officers have to step in it would be because people have breached the guidance.

"We are the first line of defence," she says, adding it is better if there are no crowds for police to manage.

Image source, getty

The first minister is asked why some premises on the list of affected pubs and cafes in Aberdeen were not contacted by contact tracers.

Ms Sturgeon says it is very important that pubs and restaurants take the contact details of customers and she encourages them to continue to do so.

However, she says there may be circumstances where the staff carrying out the contact tracing find it much more useful to trace contacts of a positive case by speaking to them and finding out who they had close contact with.

She said: "On the numbers I have right now, they are tracing successfully a very high proportion of the contacts and that should give us a degree of assurance about how the system is working."

Image source, Getty Images

Will the local lockdown impact schools in Aberdeen, asks Global, particularly for Aberdeenshire children travelling into the city.

Ms Sturgeon says part of the reason for the local lockdown is to ensure children can go back to schools.

Aberdeen schools are still preparing for orientation to begin next week, she says, adding the five-mile travel rule does not apply to those travelling for education or work.

Image source, Getty Images

STV asks how many of the positive cases are people who live in Aberdeen and how many live outwith the city. Ms Sturgeon is alerted to some anger from the named venues about appearing on the list before being told.

Ms Sturgeon says she does not have a postcode breakdown of the latest cases, but adds "we are very, very mindful" of the close links between the city and Aberdeenshire.

On the premises, she says the local team is working hard to contact any before information is published, but there is a balance to be struck.

"I would ask people to be understanding of the complex and fast-moving nature of the situations the local public health teams are dealing with," she adds.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Scotland's Andrew Kerr asks if pub crawls should be banned.

The first minister says she is very concerned about the ability of the virus to spread.

There is plenty of evidence from around the world of the virus still being highly infectious, she adds.

Ms Sturgeon said she had to look on a regular basis whether the guidance they were giving the public were strong enough and clear enough.

"We are looking at whether we need to tighten up the guidance and the regulations around hospitality. That could include some things that are currently guidance and giving them the backing of law."

She says there is still an investigation going on in Aberdeen but "superficially" there seems to be an issue with people going from one pub to another.

"We have not reached a view on that yet but it is something we can't simply ignore."

Ms Sturgeon says every time one person does not follow the advice, it creates an opportunity for the virus to get through.

"Let's all recognise our individual responsibility to the overall wellbeing of the country," she adds.

Those guidelines are:

• Face coverings in enclosed spaces
• Avoid crowded places
• Clean hands and surfaces regularly
• Two metre distancing; and
• Self-isolate and book a test if you have symptoms.

The first minister expects to report a further growth in Aberdeen cluster cases tomorrow.

This is why the "strong and decisive" action to put restrictions in place in the city was necessary, she adds.

She reminds the advice for Aberdeen is:

• not to travel more than five miles for leisure or holidays
• not to travel to the city for leisure or to visit friends and family, even if you live in Aberdeenshire
• if you are currently visiting the city, you can stay - but take necessary precautions when returning home
• no indoor visits with other households
• bars, cafes, restaurants and pubs must close, although takeaways can remain open.

Image source, Getty Images

Turning to the Aberdeen outbreak, Nicola Sturgeon confirms 79 cases are now associated with the cluster.

This is an increase of 25 on yesterday.

A further 30 cases are being investigated to see if they are linked, she adds, while 233 contacts have been traced.

Addressing concerns about other customers of the bars and restaurants involved, Ms Sturgeon says this may be because they were not there at the same time as the infected person or within 2m of them while there.

However, she reiterates the need to self-isolate if you have symptoms and to book a test.

Image source, get

The first minister says the R-number is now expected to be between 0.6 and 1 - a "slight increase" on the last estimate.

However, she says that infection rate number is less reliable when the prevalence of coronavirus is as low as it is, she adds.

Ms Sturgeon says an estimated 275 people were infected last week across Scotland.