• Nicola Sturgeon confirms she is meeting opposition leaders this afternoon and the government will publish a draft strategic document for tackling the virus later this week - it could be in place by 2 November
• The first minister says she will reveal tomorrow if the current restrictions will be rolled out beyond Monday 26 October
• A further 1,456 people have tested positive for Covid-19, 19.9% of those newly tested yesterday, and 11.4 % of the total number tested
• The number of hospital admissions rose by 70 and now stands at 824, with 69 in intensive care

• A further 15 people who tested positive have died, taking the total to 2,625 deaths in Scotland by that measure.
• The first minister and National Clinical Director Jason Leitch both urge people to self-isolate and book a test without delay as soon as they develop any Covid symptoms
• Businesses can start applying today for a share of the Scottish government’s £40m package for licensed premises
• A further £10m is made available for free school meal provision over the Christmas holidays, February half-term and Easter holidays, with councils reimbursed for provision in the current October break
• In addition an £18m fund is set aside for councils to tackle financial insecurity and help people on low incomes with other costs
• The first minister reiterates the Scottish government "will do everything in our power" to avoid widespread school closures again

That's all from us here on the live page today. Please take care and stay safe.

Image source, Getty Images

Douglas Ross says the UK government continues to do two-thirds of all the testing done in Scotland, but accepts issues need to be rectified.

The leader of the Scottish Conservatives accuses the first minister of directly criticising the Lighthouse Lab in Glasgow.

He insists they are doing an "outstanding job" at the lab.

Image source, Getty Images

"We have to ensure that businesses are involved in the decision-making," Douglas Ross adds. "They can't simply be reactive to what they are told at a few hours' notice."

The Scottish Conservatives' leader wants to see business involved and supported properly.

"For too long they have been an afterthought for this Scottish government."

He says the £20m being made available through the local authorities will not support all the hospitality businesses affected and he calls for a standardised approach to this.

Image source, Getty Images

Mr Ross says there has been a lack of clear guidance about what businesses in the hospitality sector could have done in the last couple of weeks.

There was just 50 hours' notice for the last set of guidelines, he says.

The Scottish Conservatives' leader argues nothing has been done to allow hospitality businesses to change or develop to enable them to reopen.

He points out these businesses have heard today that the latest restrictions might be in place far longer than they had initially been led to understand.

Douglas Ross tells the BBC Scotland programme he has been “extremely impressed” by what support Chancellor Rishi Sunak has provided across the UK and he stresses it is important people “get all the support they require”.

The leader of the Scottish Conservatives says he will be meeting with the first minister at 3.30pm this afternoon and he pledges to look at all the Scottish government proposals as constructively as possible.

He says Rishi Sunak has shown the UK government will continue to respond to the needs of people right across the country.

Mr Ross wants to see that support from the Scottish government as well, stressing that the opening for applications to the £20m council grants for hospitality businesses has taken some time to come.

He says we need to make sure there is support for businesses as soon as any further restrictions are required from them, and they shouldn't have to wait a week.

Dr Christine Tait-Burkard, from the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh, says studies show one in three people spread coronavirus before they show symptoms, and another one in three people spread it on the first day they actually start to show symptoms.

She reinforces Prof Jason Leitch's earlier message that you should stay at home immediately if you have any symptoms.

The evidence also suggests coronavirus does not spread evenly and there is more an "80-20" effect, where 20% of people infect 80% more people.

Dr Tait-Burkard tells BBC Scotland that the UK is now following the example of countries like Japan and Germany, which have focused on "super-spreader" events in their tracing process.

"We have seen it again and again, for example in care homes, the White House, and student hall outbreaks which trickle into the community," she adds.

"When dealing with lots of cases, we have to focus on super-spreading events rather than individual, one-to-one transmissions."

Image source, PA Media

Gordon Chree from STV points to the first minister planning to meet with opposition party leaders this afternoon to discuss the introduction of a tiered system of restrictions.

Mr Chree asks are we likely to see much the same restrictions as are in place now.

The first minister confirms she will meet with party leaders this afternoon and John Swinney is meeting with Cosla to share the government’s thinking on the new tiered or levels approach.

Ms Sturgeon says the government will publish a draft strategic document later this week, probably on Thursday or Friday.

It will look at the review of the testing system, business support and at its heart will be the approach of tiered levels of intervention.

The parliament will debate and vote on this overall framework next week, with it coming into effect on 2 November if MSPs approve it.

We will find out at tomorrow's briefing if the new restrictions in place will continue beyond next Monday.

Image source, PA Media

BBC Scotland’s education correspondent Jamie McIvor says there is intense speculation today around the possibility of school closures.

Mr McIvor asks how likely is it that there will be widespread school closures.

The first minister replies she tries to be very careful about ruling anything in or out.

“But, I will do everything and the Scottish government will do everything in our power, to avoid widespread school closures again.

“We want to keep schools open as far as is possible.”

She can’t, however, rule out a move to blended learning for some or all of a school in a local area.

National Clinical Director Jason Leitch reveals that in polling for the Scottish government, only 69% of people said they would self-isolate and book a test straightaway if they experience coronavirus symptoms.

While it is "good news that pretty much everybody knows the symptoms", 18% said they would self-isolate but wait a day or two before booking a test, while 3% said they would continue as normal for a day or two to see if they get better.

That puts people in direct danger of spreading the virus," Prof Leitch says

"If you get any of the three symptoms, don’t wait a while. Just book a test, self-isolate and book a test immediately," he adds.

"We have enough capacity to manage that - you don’t have to wait."

The issue of hospital capacity was thrust into the headlines yesterday when political leaders in Greater Manchester insisted that the current 78.3% usage of ICU beds in the area was "relatively normal" for this time of the year.

The English region is facing "tier three" restrictions which would see hospitality and travel curbs.

So, what is happening with hospital beds in Scotland? Is capacity being reached?

The main difference between the second surge of Covid and the first in April and May is that hospitals are trying to keep more services running at the same time as treating coronavirus patients.

• At its peak, the first coronavirus wave created a huge load on Scotland's hospitals, with 1,520 Covid patients being treated across the country on 20 April.
• The number of people in hospital is currently far lower than that - 824 on Tuesday - but has been rising steadily for more than a month.

Check out some other hospital statistics here.

Image source, Getty Images

Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville announces two new funding packages to help people on low incomes.

The Scottish government will make £10m available for free school meal provision over the Christmas holidays, February half-term break and Easter.

It will also reimburse councils for provision over the October half-term holidays, and support around 156,000 children and young people, Ms Somerville says.

It will be up to each local authority to decide how this support is delivered, but she is advocating a "cash first" approach' where appropriate.

There will also be an £18m fund available to councils to tackle financial insecurity, in addition to the £57m already made available through the Scottish Welfare Fund.

This is designed to help people meet housing, fuel and food costs.

1. Scottish government: Coronavirus (COVID-19): what you can and cannot do, external

2. Scottish government's new restrictions, external

The challenge Scotland faces has also been set out in an evidence paper, external published by senior clinical advisors

3. Download the Protect Scotland app, external from NHS Scotland

4. Test and Protect, external

If you have Covid-19 symptoms go immediately to NHS Inform online or phone 0800 028 2816 to book a test

5. NHS Inform, external

The latest from NHS Scotland and the Scottish government, including social distancing, face covering and stay at home advice.

6. Clear Your Head, external

It's ok to not feel yourself right now, here's some great tips to help people through the pandemic

7. BBC Scotland articles:

• What are Scotland's new lockdown rules?

• Covid-19 in Scotland: Where are the latest cases?

• Check the Covid rules where you live

The first minister calls on the public to follow all the latest guidelines which can be found on the Scottish government website.

As ever, the first minister ends by reiterating the government's FACTS advice:

Image source, Scottish government

The first minister pledges to do anything possible with the UK government to address any backlog in testing.

This includes expanding NHS Scotland testing capacity, she adds.

Ms Sturgeon says: "The testing system is working well, but we will continue to highlight and seek to resolve any delays or backlogs when they do occur."

Image source, Getty Images

Ms Sturgeon says the number of new cases reported on Sunday was artificially low as some test results took longer to come back than normal.

That was because they had been diverted from the Glasgow Lighthouse laboratory to other labs across the UK.

Virtually all UK samples will have been reported by tomorrow, with many in today's figures, she explains.

That will provide a clear idea of the total number of new cases identified in recent days, she adds.

The first minister turns to an additional issue around notifications with the UK wide system, with results being sent by text messages.

The system for text notification was slower over the weekend but the issue has now been resolved.

Image source, Getty Images

Ms Sturgeon turns to the £40m of support for businesses affected by the current Covid restrictions to hospitality.

The first minister says a £20m grant fund will be administered by councils and their websites are open for grant applications for two weeks.

All eligible businesses should apply, she stresses.

The first minister will be saying more about hospitality restrictions tomorrow after the cabinet meeting takes stock of the situation.

The first minister calls on people to book a test as soon as they develop any Covid symptoms.

Nicola Sturgeon says people must come for a test immediately and err on the side of caution.

She points out this will allow Test and Protect to begin the process of tracing as quickly as they can.

The first minister says any delay in going for a test makes it harder for Test and Protect to ask people to self-isolate before they potentially spread the virus to other people.

824 patients are in hospital with a confirmed case (up 70), with 69 being treated in intensive care (up eight).

A further 15 people who tested positive have died, taking the total to 2,625 deaths in Scotland by that measure.

Nicola Sturgeon confirms a further 1,456 people have tested positive for Covid-19, 19.9% of those newly tested yesterday.

That is 11.4 % of the total number of people tested (6.4% yesterday).

This number of tests includes some test results delayed over the past few days.

This takes the total number of positive cases in Scotland to 49,164.

Health board breakdown:

Ms Sturgeon says the provisional data indicates the breakdown of new cases is as follows:

• NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde: 500
• NHS Lanarkshire: 393
• NHS Lothian: 198
• NHS Ayrshire and Arran: 116

The remaining are spread across nine other health boards.

Image source, Getty Images

Nicola Sturgeon will begin her daily briefing shortly.

We can expect to hear about the briefing of opposition party leaders on a new framework for dealing with the virus in Scotland with a tiered approach to restrictions.

Businesses and the hospitality sector in particular are also waiting for any further indications as to what to expect when current restrictions come to an end next Monday, 26 October.

How to watch and listen:

• On BBC One Scotland the programme will have the main part of the daily briefing. It will also have an interview with Dr Christine Tait Burkard from the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh. Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, will also be on the programme.
• Meanwhile, if you prefer, you can watch the whole of the briefing with all the questions from journalists on the BBC Scotland Channel

• Or you can listen to the briefing on Lunchtime Live on BBC Radio Scotland

All three are available here on this live page.