That's all from Holyrood Live on Tuesday 3 March 2020.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has told MSPs that the worst case scenario planning indicates 80% of the UK population could become infected with coronavirus.

The cabinet secretary was updating Holyrood on the Scottish government's preparations for dealing with the potential spread of COVID-19 beyond the one case currently identified in Scotland.

She said modelling indicated 4% of those infected may require hospitalisation and there was an estimated 1% fatality rate.

The Scottish government has set out its strategy to cope with coronavirus, external as part of a "four nations" action plan.

Image source, Andrew Cowan

It has activated its "resilience room" to co-ordinate the Scottish response to the virus, external.

The UK government has warned that up to a fifth of the UK workforce could be off sick at the same time.

The minister says the four nation action plan will lead to emergency legislation being laid at Westminster later this month, to allow former NHS staff to return to work and schools to be closed.

It will also allow the introduction of mandatory vaccinations for health and social care workers

Ms Freeman says extraordinary social distancing measures and restrictions of public events may be necessary in the future but are not needed yet.

Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick says NHS staff are trained to spot pre-eclampsia and all health boards are trained in using the perinatal mortality review tool.

He says further research is needed on the blood testing of placental growth factor but NHS Lothian is taking part in the PARROT 2 study.

Mr FitzPatrick adds that there is not universal access in England to the test, stating only 33 out of 223 NHS trusts in England offer it.

Image source, bbc

Labour MSP Monica Lennon pays tribute to Kenneth Gibson and his wife Patricia for speaking out about the loss of their own baby son, helping thousands of people across Scotland.

Ms Lennon says this is a glaring health inequality where women over the border can get these tests but women here in Scotland cannot.

She hopes by the end of this debate we can move forward as she does not see the need for further trials.

"We don't have to reinvent the wheel, there is a solution," says Ms Lennon, adding "this is an issue we can all agree on".

She hopes these tests will be available for women soon.

Image source, Science Photo Library

Women with severe pre-eclampsia should have their blood pressure closely monitored for a year after giving birth because high blood pressure can remain undetected, a new study suggests.

It found high blood pressure "often goes unnoticed because women may have normal blood pressure readings" in the doctor's surgery.

The Dutch study, external of 200 women found 17.5% had masked hypertension.

Their blood pressure was much higher when it was monitored at home.

Read more.

SNP MSP Kenny Gibson tells the chamber of the "personal nightmare" he and his wife endured when the couple lost their son at full term in 2009.

This was due to staff at the Southern General hospital in Glasgow failing to spot that Patricia Gibson (the MP for North Ayrshire and Arran) had pre-eclampsia, he explains.

• SNP MSP speaks about death of baby

He goes on to says when the couple sought an apology from the health board, NHS Greater Glasgow and Child "fought tooth and nail" against them.

The sad truth is pre-eclampsia is not always diagnosed properly or treated correctly, the SNP MSP says.

Image source, Getty Images

Pregnant women in England will be able to get a new type of blood test to check for the potentially life-threatening condition pre-eclampsia.

NHS England is making PLGF testing more widely available as evidence suggests it speeds up diagnosis which could save lives.

Mums-to-be who develop pre-eclampsia have dangerously high blood pressure which can damage vital organs.

Read more.

Image source, bbc

Miles Briggs says the current method of predicting the clinical onset of pre-eclampsia is not very accurate.

That's why placental growth factor testing should be introduced in Scotland as it is in England, argues the Tory MSP.

He argues there is a disparity in care for pregnant women in Scotland compared with England.

The Tory MSP argues the test can help rule out the condition in women and he says it is unacceptable that women can't access placental growth factor testing routinely.

Image source, SPL

According to the NHS, external: "Pre-eclampsia is a condition that affects some pregnant women, usually during the second half of pregnancy (from around 20 weeks) or soon after their baby is delivered."

Symptoms include:

• high blood pressure
• swelling of the feet, ankles, face and hands
• severe headache
• vision problems
• pain just below the ribs

If you notice any of these symptoms, seek medical advice immediately.

The NHS says: "Although many cases are mild, the condition can lead to serious complications for both mother and baby if it's not monitored and treated."

Tory MSP Miles Briggs is leading a debate on improving diagnosis of pre-eclampsia.

His motion highlights 70% of women admitted to hospital with suspected pre-eclampsia do not have the condition and notes calls to introduce blood testing of placental growth factor in Scotland.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

Image source, Scottish Parliament

MSPs unanimously agree the motion celebrating International Women's Day 2020.

International Women's Day 2020, external is on Sunday.

This year's theme is Each For Equal, demanding the creation of a "gender equal world".

Image source, International Womens' Day

Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton jokes he rises to speak with a degree of relief as this the first International Women's Day debate he has spoken in where the Lib Dem team is not all male.

To improve the position of girls and women, we must also educate boys and men he says.

My life has been filled with the impact of extraordinary women, he says.

He highlights there are more statues of animals in Edinburgh than women because the greatness of women is seldom brought to the floor.

Image source, GETTY IMAGES/HULTON ARCHIVE/EDWARD GOOCH COLLECTION

All over the world on 8 March people will be celebrating International Women's Day.

It's marked every year and is a chance to celebrate the amazing achievements of women in everything from sport to politics.

It's also about promoting equality between men and women.

• Read more
• International Women's Day: History, strikes and celebrations
• Gail Ross to stand down at next election
• Women MPs say abuse forcing them from politics

Image source, bbc

Patrick Harvie says this yea'rs theme of Each for Equal has led to the highlighting of the importance of women in the economy and the economic inequality that remains.

However he adds: "We should want a more equal world on principle."

He welcomes the government motion including a focus on intersectional equality.

An assumption that all women are not trans would be quite as wrong as all women are white or able bodied or heterosexual and would be just as likely to create inequality, Mr Harvie says.

"Intersectional" is the overlap of various identities, such as race, gender, sexuality, and class, and how this contributes to the specific type of systemic oppression and discrimination experienced by an individual.

Labour MSP Pauline McNeill says male violence against women is on the increase in Scotland, according to official figures.

Women will never be equal unless we are safe from violence, she says.

Women and men should not only be paid the same for the same job, but there should also be equal pay for jobs of the same value she states.

There has been progress since the first women's liberation movement but there is still a long way to go, says Ms McNeill.

Image source, bbc

Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton says her party supports the government motion today.

"International Women's Day is a fantastic opportunity, as always, to celebrate how much things have changed for the better, from the Equality Act, to votes for women to tackling the gender pay gap.

"Nevertheless in 2020 there is still much to do and still a long way to go."

Ms Hamilton goes on to say in rural areas women continue to be marginalised, with a lack of employment opportunities, difficulty in accessing childcare and long entrenched stereotypes.

She agrees with SNP MSP Emma Harper about the good work of the Women in Agriculture Taskforce, external, but calls for the Scottish government to improve rural childcare.

The taskforce aims to give women in farming access to the same development opportunities as men in this sector.