• In the last week there have been 167 deaths linked to Covid-19 - the highest figure since last May
• The first minister confirms 1,433 new Covid cases and 50 deaths with the virus in the last 24 hours
• The Scottish government is "actively considering" putting a travel ban into law with fines for those who travel in and out of Covid-19 hotspots
• Nicola Sturgeon says she hopes the furlough scheme will be available in Scotland at its current levels if stronger restrictions are required in the future
• The first minister wants to see an end to the "current confusion and lack of clarity" from the Treasury on furlough

• Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross insists the prime minister has not budged from his commitment to make the furlough scheme available in full, if Scotland goes into another lockdown
• The FM says: "I am going to choose to believe that the PM is going to stick to that commitment and ensure the Treasury provides the detail."
• Nicola Sturgeon announces a £25m fund for recent start-ups, being shared today by 90 businesses.
• Scotland's chief fire officer urges people to "be kind, smart and safe" with fireworks and ahead of Bonfire Night

Mr Ross insists the prime minister has reiterated his furlough commitment today and it will be honoured.

The Scottish Conservative leader adds that he is "pleased that the Chancellor Rishi Sunak will come to the chamber of the House of Commons to outline more details on that tomorrow."

Mr Ross says the prime minister has been clear that the furlough scheme will be available should it be needed due to a further lockdown in Scotland.

He guarantees that if a full national lockdown is implemented in Scotland, the UK chancellor will provide full 80% furlough for as long as required.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross insists the prime minister has not budged from his commitment to make the furlough scheme available if Scotland goes into another lockdown.

Image source, Getty Images

Dr Simon Clarke moves on to discuss the possibility of a vaccine - which he believes is "unlikely" this side of Easter.

He says that given the scale of Covid, it would be "unforgivable" if authorities did not have apparatus in place to deliver a vaccine if one came along.

However, he says the real question with any vaccine is how long will immunity last?

Image source, Getty Images

Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at the University of Reading, says he does not believe a lockdown in Scotland is "inevitable" - although he would not rule it out.

He says Nicola Sturgeon's focus on getting the R number down is the correct approach.

However he says having the current tier system in place is "not enough" - it's about how "appropriate and relevant" the controls are and how quickly authorities move areas up or down levels if required.

Image source, Getty Images

The BBC's Andrew Kerr says he is in contact with people who were previously asked to shield who now wonder why the same measure is not being taken again.

Nicola Sturgeon says on the subject of shielding that she "listens closely to clinical advice" and wants vulnerable individuals to be as "safe as possible" but without restricting them more than is necessary.

Jason Leitch says this is why this time around the advice is more "individual" and people who previously shielded can talk to clinicians about how they should behave.

"The fundamental advice is be even more careful than the people in your group," he says.

He appealed to employers to be understanding of the needs of people who were asked to shield.

Image source, Getty Images

Scotland's national clinical director Prof Jason Leitch says he is as confident as he can be that there is a slowing of the number of new cases and hospital and ICU admissions.

He adds that he hopes it will lead to a fall in mortality, but not today.

He says winter is always challenging for the NHS and now we have Covid.

Prof Leitch insists: "We are doing our absolute best to keep elective surgery open."

He highlights the winter plans for the NHS and social care published recently by the government.

Image source, Getty Images

Gordon Chree from STV says a lot of people will be taken aback by today's death figure of 50.

Mr Chree asks the first minister if the figure is a "trend or a bit of an outlier".

The first minister replies by saying the responsibility she hates most is having to announce the number of people who have died.

Ms Sturgeon says we don't know if the 50 deaths represents a trend or is an outlier yet.

She explains these are the deaths registered in the past 24 hours and it can average out over a number of days and is a lag indicator.

The first minister warns we may be in a flatter and longer scenario in terms of the pandemic, with a challenging high base line.

Image source, Getty Images

Scotland's chief fire officer urges people to "be kind, smart and safe" with fireworks and ahead of Bonfire Night.

Last year saw fire officers attend 760 incidents within 24 hours, including many "deliberate" fires, Martin Blunden says.

He expects with public events cancelled due to Covid restrictions, many will be tempted to hold displays in their own gardens - but people should be considerate of those with sensory impairments, people with autism, older people and animals that could be affected, he adds.

Mr Blunden says advice on firework safety can be found on the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service's website - but highlights the following:

• Don't throw fireworks
• Read firework instructions in the daylight
• Supervise children with sparklers
• Light one sparkler at a time
• Extinguish them by putting them tip down in a bucket of water

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

As the first minister talks at the podium in Edinburgh, the SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford starts his turn at Prime Minister's Questions by inviting Boris Johnson to "condemn" Donald Trump's comments earlier suggesting his opponents were trying to defraud him of election victory.

Moving onto Covid, he asks for a firm commitment that the government will extend the 80% support for wage subsidies through the furlough scheme to Scotland if it goes into lockdown.

He says ministers are "rolling back" on the promise seemingly made by the Chancellor and PM last week.

But the PM says he will not "budge" from the commitment. The furlough is a UK-wide scheme and has saved thousands of jobs, he says, adding that Chancellor Rishi Sunak will make a statement on general economic support on Thursday.

The first minister says the first review of the levels system is due next Tuesday.

She calls on all of us to abide by the rules and points out none of us are powerless in terms of tackling the spread of the virus.

Ms Sturgeon reminds us of the rules and the new five-level system of coronavirus restrictions, external that has come into effect in Scotland.

• Covid in Scotland: What are the latest lockdown rules?

The first minister, as ever, calls on us to follow the FACTS:

Image source, Scottish government

The first minister says back in July the Scottish government announced £38m for new companies in emerging sectors.

Ms Sturgeon says that support included a £25m fund for recent start ups, being shared today by 90 businesses.

She says she hopes the support will help these new businesses to innovate and grow.

Image source, Getty Images

The first minister turns to furlough payments and welcomes the current UK-wide extension to 2 December.

Ms Sturgeon says the Scottish government continues to make the case that the same level of furlough support must be available after November.

She says we can't have a situation where businesses are fully supported when England goes into lockdown but that support is not available if Scotland does.

"I very much welcome the apparent commitment of the prime minister to equal treatment that he gave in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon."

She hopes the furlough scheme will be available in Scotland at its current levels if stronger restrictions are required here in the future.

The first minister wants to see an end to the current confusion and lack of clarity from the Treasury.

Image source, PA Media

The first minister says she is joined today by Scotland's chief fire officer who will discuss fire safety ahead of Bonfire night on 5 November.

Ms Sturgeon says there is an immediate need to ensure this bonfire night passes safely.