• A further 691 people tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday, which amounts to 3.1% of all tests
• An additional 20 deaths of people who tested positive in the previous 28 days have been registered
• Another 141 deaths were recorded last week where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, according to National Records of Scotland
• The number is down 89 on last week and is the sixth successive week that the total has fallen
• A total of 1,809,158 people in Scotland have now had their first vaccination dose
• The first minister tells Holyrood's Covid-19 Committee the exit from lockdown "may be slower than everyone wants it to be" but her focus is on "steady and one-directional" progress
• Scotland's chief medical officer says the virus is completely different from last year and is somewhere between 30% and 70% more transmissible
• Nicola Sturgeon says there is "nothing perfect or ideal" about the limited time S1-S3 pupils will have in the classroom when they return on Monday
• Dr Smith says it is “highly likely” we will need to get regular vaccination updates for the virus in future
• And the first minister denies she has a "secret hairdresser"

That's all from us on the live page today. We will be back tomorrow for First Minister's Questions.

In the meantime, thanks for joining us and please stay safe.

John Mason asks the first minister if Police Scotland's Covid strategy of only using enforcement as a last resort has been working.

Ms Sturgeon believes it has and adds the force has responded "very well" to the crisis.

She adds: "The vast majority of people have complied with all the restrictions."

Image source, PA

Willie Coffey MSP says he takes prides in reading that it was a Scottish doctor, Alexander Wood, who is widely credited with inventing the modern-day hypodermic syringe - thanks for the plug, Mr Coffey - and asks whether there is more we could be dong to assist other countries with their vaccination programme.

Nicola Sturgeon says "absolutely" and despite being "really pleased" with the vaccine rollout in the UK, she says "we kid ourselves on" if we think just vaccinating our own population solves a global pandemic for us.

We will be this pandemic as long as other countries are in it, the first minister points out.

We have a shared interest – not just out of altruism, but actually a "selfish self-interest" - in other countries getting themselves vaccinated as well, she says.

The Scottish government has already helped prepare health systems in countries like Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda for distribution of the vaccine through its international development programme, Ms Sturgeon adds.

Since around September, it has also carried out a review of its approach with a view to ring-fencing some funding for Covid-specific responses.

Image source, PA Media

Stuart McMillan MSP asks the chief medical officer whether we are likely to need an annual, or regular, vaccine - akin to the flu vaccine - to help us live with Covid in the future.

Dr Gregor Smith says it is “highly likely” we will get into regular vaccination updates for this virus, but he can’t say with confidence yet what form those updates will take.

We still don’t know how long the immunity the vaccinations confer lasts for, he points out.

Once we have more information about that, we will be able to say what any 'booster programme' looks like, Dr Smith says.

But given the new variants that are emerging around the world, for that reason alone it is "almost inevitable" that more vaccinations will be required, he adds.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

Annabelle Ewing concludes her questions by asking the first minister when people can expect to go to the hairdressers?

The first minister says she is not able to give a date but adds: "I can give you a 100% assurance though that I will not delay our ability to visit the hairdresser any longer than is necessary.

"I am saying that out of pure self-interest, as you can see.

"There are still conspiracy theories that circulate on social media from time to time that I have got a secret hairdresser somewhere."

Ms Sturgeon jokes: "I can say, firstly, that's not true and, secondly, I don't know how anybody looking at me right now could reach that conclusion.

"No hairdresser is responsible, or would take responsibility, for this."

Image source, Scottish Parliament

Willie Rennie, the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, asks the first minister about the amount of in-school time for S1-S3 pupils when they return to classrooms partially from next Monday, 15 March.

Mr Rennie says it will be less than two hours a week for some pupils, and asks whether the first minister still plans to go ahead with the proposed arrangements.

Nicola Sturgeon says yes she does, though she appreciates there will be different views on the matter.

The judgement the government had to make was whether to have no provision at all for S1-S3s until after Easter, or some limited time before the holidays.

The concern was not just about the educational impact but their wellbeing and being separated from friends, she explains.

"I appreciate this puts pressure on teachers and local authorities but we are trying to get back to full-time provision as quickly as possible," she adds, even if it is partial and phased and limited initially.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

Mark Ruskell MSP asks the first minister about self isolation support grants and whether they should be universal.

The first minister says she would not be averse to such a position if the Scottish government's budget was unlimited as it would remove the application process.

But she adds: "We wouldn't have the financial cover and wherewithal to pay for that at times when the levels of virus and the numbers of people requiring to self isolate are anywhere near what they have been in recent times."

Ms Sturgeon says it "becomes more possible" if prevalence was low but admits she is concerned at what would happen in the event of a surge in cases.

As well as financial support, she adds there is provision to help people who live on their own and those who need to be put in alternative accommodation to self isolate.

Another 141 deaths were recorded last week where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, according to the National Records for Scotland (NRS), external.

It's a decrease of 89 deaths on the previous week and the sixth time in a row that the number of weekly deaths has fallen.

The NRS said the "fastest decrease" in deaths was in care homes, which now account for 10% of all Covid-19 deaths.

The total number of Covid deaths in Scotland using the NRS measure is now 9,725.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

The committee's deputy convenor Monica Lennon highlights the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on people from low income backgrounds.

Ms Lennon asks what the government has done to prevent this and what action is planned to reduce inequalities.

The first minister says there has been "targeted investment" to help those who need it most, from additional money to support local authority service delivery to food insecurity.

She also says ministers must not only focus on long-standing inequalities across society.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

The Covid-19 committee was set up last Spring and met for the first time in late April 2020.

Scottish Conservatives MSP Donald Cameron is the current convener of the committee, with Scottish Labour’s Monica Lennon the deputy convener.

In total, nine MSPs are on the committee today, including the SNP’s Willie Coffey, Annabelle Ewing, Stuart McMillan and John Mason.

Maurice Corry is the other Conservative member, with Mark Ruskell representing the Scottish Greens today and Willie Rennie the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

The committee's official remit, in case you were wondering, is "to consider and report on the Scottish Government’s response to Covid-19 including the operation of powers under the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act, the Coronavirus Act and any other legislation in relation to the response to Covid-19 and any secondary legislation arising from the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act and any other legislation in relation to the response to Covid-19.”

Image source, Scottish Parliament

Donald Cameron, the committee convener, also asks the first minister about the potential extension of coronavirus legislation, citing a "strong argument" that it may be better to take stock after a year when so much has happened.

Nicola Sturgeon says she has "a lot of sympathy" on the question of emergency legislation and she doesn't want it to be in place "for a minute longer than it has to be".

But we are still in an emergency situation, says the first minister, so it is important there is a degree of flexibility, which is why the government thinks the extension is appropriate and it is "proportionate" to continue with it

Ms Sturgeon reminds the committee that the extension would be until September, and it would be up to an incoming administration to judge whether to extend it beyond September, following the Scottish Parliament elections in May.

Image source, Getty Images

Hundreds of millions of adults around the world can expect to be vaccinated against Covid over the next few months.

It will be delivered by hypodermic syringe - but who invented it?

Most people with access to healthcare take vaccinations for granted.

The syringe that is now being used to provide protection against Covid may look simple enough - but appearances can be deceptive.

It took millennia to create the hypodermic syringe in a form that was to allow mass vaccinations to take place today.

An Irish surgeon, Francis Rynd, and French physician, Charles Pravaz, made a huge contribution to the field in the mid-19th Century.

But it was a Scottish doctor, Alexander Wood, who is now widely credited with inventing the modern-day hypodermic syringe.

Read more here.

Image source, PA Media

Committee convenor Donald Cameron asks the chief medical officer about the vaccine rollout.

He asks what the expected weekly vaccination rate is likely to be by mid-April.

Dr Smith says the weekly vaccination rate is going to be "wholly determined" by the supplies coming into the country at that point in time.

The first minister later says she hopes to get the rate up to 400,000 a week "as supplies permit".

And she adds the government hopes to have vaccinated the entire adult population by the end of July.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

Scotland chief medical officer Dr Gregor Smith says the country is dealing with a "very different situation" than it faced when the first lockdown ended last summer.

He says: "The virus that we are now dealing with is a completely different virus, certainly in the way that it behaves than we have become used to."

Dr Smith adds the current "measured" approach is essential to prevent the balance being tipped in the virus' favour again.

He says: "There is a very real risk that will happen if we move too quickly".

Dr Smith tells the committee the virus is now somewhere between 30% and 70% more transmissible.

Image source, PA Media

Up to four adults from two different households will be able to meet outdoors in Scotland from Friday of this week.

The current rules only allow outdoor meetings between two adults from two households.

Restrictions on young people will also be eased, with four people aged between 12-17 able to meet even if they are all from different households.

Outdoor non-contact group sports for adults will also restart on Friday.

And people will be able to gather for communal worship from 26 March, so long as no more than 50 people are in attendance and physical distancing is maintained throughout.

Read more here.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

Asked about the easing of coronavirus restrictions, the first minister says the exit from lockdown "may be slower than everyone wants it to be".

Ms Sturgeon says her focus is to make it "steady and one-directional" rather than going too fast now and finding we take "one step forward and two steps back".

The first minister says a bit of caution at this stage is the "best mitigation" against that possibility.