• The first minister says a "grown-up" debate is needed on the use of vaccine passports
• Nicola Sturgeon confirms that "virtually" all secondary school pupils will return to the classroom after the Easter holidays
• The number of positive cases of Covid-19 increased by 259, reflecting 2% of those tested in the past 24 hours
• There are currently 196 patients in hospital with Covid-19 and of that number 21 are in ICU
• No Covid deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours

• A further 12,500 first doses of vaccine were given yesterday
• "Virtually all" over-60s have now received a first dose
• The first batch of the Moderna vaccine has arrived safely in Scotland
• Covid tests will be made available twice a week to everyone in Scotland, whether they have symptoms or not
• Ms Sturgeon acknowledges restrictions remain "really tough"

Alex Cole-Hamilton says the Lib Dems have "deep concerns" about the prospect of vaccine passports.

This would be the first time in living memory that evidence of your medical history and treatment status "will be a pre-requisite for freedom of movement and activity", he says.

Governments in Westminster and Scotland don’t have a very good track record of maintaining and securing personal data, he says, highlighting some "massive data breaches".

"It is not something that fills us with optimism and I think it is a short step to full ID cards if we get used to having them domestically," Mr Cole-Hamilton adds.

Scottish Liberal Democrats MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton tells BBC One Scotland that although the latest figures are encouraging, "the last mile is always the hardest".

This lockdown has felt very long for a great many people, he says, especially for young people who have had to get to grips with IT problems when home learning, and in some cases not sitting exams on their return to school.

Mr Cole-Hamilton has "some real concerns" that assessments introduced to capture their learning "is just an exam by another name".

It will put “tremendous pressure” on teachers and pupils who are already stressed and concerned about everything they have missed, he argues.

Alison Johnstone says that with schools set to reopen fully next week, due consideration has to be given to offering teachers vaccinations.

Ms Johnstone also says she has not been convinced that widespread use of vaccination passports would be a good thing.

"There may be some cases where this is appropriate", she says. "But I would be extremely concerned about the introduction of a vaccine passport at a domestic level."

She points to the possibility of younger people who haven't been given a jab being placed at a disadvantage in the workplace.

"No-one wants to get into that two-tiered society model," Ms Johnstone says.

Alison Johnstone, from the Scottish Green Party, says the latest statistics are very welcome, but warns against complacency.

"I think it is fair to say that, in the past, we have rushed easing and it has set us back a little," she says.

Image source, Getty Images

Anas Sarwar says as well as thinking about the impact on children's mental health and wellbeing of their return to school, we also need to think about teachers.

Now that we have a ramping up of vaccine supply, we should be looking at rolling out those vaccines to teachers, says the Scottish Labour leader.

"That gives them confidence in going to work, and also gives confidence to pupils and parents," he adds.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar tells BBC One Scotland there is a "sense of hope and optimism that we need to harness" but he would still urge caution on the pace of easing restrictions.

We need to make sure this is the last lockdown, he says.

"If we come out too quickly, we risk a spike in cases and another lockdown would be really damaging for people's mental health and wellbeing, our economy and people's jobs across the country," he says.

Taking a more cautious approach earlier in the pandemic might have avoided going into the current lockdown, Mr Sarwar says.

Image source, Getty Images

Jillian Evans, head of health intelligence at NHS Grampian, says "we are on the right track" and it is "great news" that pupils are returning to classrooms full-time.

Dr Evans urges delighted parents not to "revert back to normal" though just because their children are going back to school. They should still work from home if they can, she says.

Dr Evans says more focus on ventilation in schools is really important, which should be easier to achieve as we approach the warmer period of the year.

This will be a nerve-wracking time for a lot of pupils, she says, with some having increased anxiety about returning to school, and we need make the return as pleasurable an experience for pupils as possible.

With lateral flow tests being made available twice a week not just in schools but in the wider community, Dr Evans hopes people will see testing "as something that becomes a part of their daily lives".

"Testing is fantastic providing you can continue to provide contact tracing support, and support for people who have to isolate," she adds.

"There are a number of reopenings that can be safely and cautiously brought forward," Douglas Ross says.

"This includes being able to serve alcohol with a meal indoors in pubs and restaurants, which the hospitality sector is calling for."

More contact sports for adults and indoor sports training should also be viable, based on public heath data and advice, Mr Ross adds.

Image source, Getty Images

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross says a really positive message is being sent out as the numbers of people in hospital continue to fall and vaccination levels increase.

"Everything indicates that we are absolutely moving in the right direction," he tells the BBC Scotland Coronavirus Update programme.

Mr Ross says that is why he believes we can be more optimistic - and bring forward the lifting of some restrictions from May to the end of this month

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Scotland's political editor Glenn Campbell asks the first minister if it is possible to have a system of vaccine passports that is fair - and if they are judged suitable for international travel, could they also be suitable for mass gatherings or trips to the pub?

Ms Sturgeon says it is important "not to close our minds" to the idea of vaccine certification.

"We all want to get back to normal, so anything that can play a part in getting us back to normal is something we should think about very carefully.

"But nor should we gloss over the practical and ethical issues," she adds.

The first minister says, if the public are to have confidence in any future certification process, that we must take time to "air all of the challenges".

Image source, Diane Gray

The first minister continues with a recap of the changes to the restrictions that have already started in recent days, with the "stay at home" order lifted and businesses such as hairdressers and garden centres reopening.

While she hopes people have enjoyed taking advantage of those, Ms Sturgeon says with more people meeting outdoors in the warmer weather, we saw scenes "of considerable concern" in places like The Meadows in Edinburgh, where violence erupted.

Police officers should not have to get involved in dispersing large groups of people, she says.

The first ministers acknowledges restrictions remain "really tough" and understands why people want to meet up in larger groups.

But the best way for all of us to do that in the near future is to keep the virus rates as low as possible, and abide by the precautions in place, she says.

Image source, Getty Images

Secondary schools in Scotland will reopen full time as planned after the Easter holidays, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed.

Primary schools had already resumed full-time teaching before the holidays, but a blended learning system had been used in secondary schools.

The first minister says there has been "encouraging news" over the past seven days, with a decline in case numbers after a period where they plateaued.

"Covid is down in Scotland", she says, which provides a "lot of optimism for the period that lies ahead" but "it is not out". Rises in other parts of the world show the virus is "still very much with us".

There are still hundreds of cases a day being reported in Scotland, mostly of the new, more infectious variant, she points out.

With some countries such as France introducing new lockdowns, the same could happen here, Ms Sturgeon says, if we let our guard down.

Ms Sturgeon also tells the briefing that virtually all over-60s have now received a first dose of the vaccine.

For other age groups the latest figures are:

·55-59: 92%

·50-54: 72%

Image source, Getty Images

The Scottish government confirms that all secondary school pupils will return to classes full-time after the Easter holidays.

For weeks they have been having face-to-face lessons on a part-time basis only.

On their return, they won’t be sitting a full exam diet but will still have to sit final assessments to determine their grades.

As of 07:30 this morning, 2,577,816 people in Scotland had received their first dose of the vaccine, an increase of 12,536 since yesterday.

In addition, a further 7,406 have received their second dose, taking the total number of people to have received a second dose to 463,780.

Image source, Getty Images

The first minister confirms that the first batch of the Moderna vaccine has arrived safely in Scotland.

Scotland will receive over 1m of the 17m doses the UK has ordered, she says.

Those doses will arrive over a period of months, not all at once, and she cautions that the supply does not mean the vaccine programme will be accelerated.

The programme is already taking account of the expected supplies of the Moderna vaccine, but it nevertheless gives "additional security of supply, which is important", Ms Sturgeon adds.

Nicola Sturgeon begins with an update of the latest coronavirus figures.

The first minister confirms that a further 259 people have tested positive for Covid – which is 2% of the tests carried out yesterday.

This takes the total number of positive cases in Scotland to 220,493.

There are 196 people in hospital with recently confirmed Covid-19, a decrease of 19 since before the Easter weekend, and 21 people are in intensive care, which is the same as before the weekend.

There have been no more deaths recorded in the past 24 hours of people who tested positive in the previous 28 days. But Ms Sturgeon points out that there were no registrations yesterday because of the bank holiday, so that figure may be an under-estimate.

That total number of deaths by that measurement remains at 7,614.

Nicola Sturgeon will begin her coronavirus briefing imminently.

The first minister will be joined at the briefing by national clinical director Jason Leitch and chief nursing officer Amanda Croft.

You can follow proceedings right here on this live page or watch or listen by clicking one of the tabs above for BBC One Scotland, the BBC Scotland Channel or Radio Scotland.

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