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The Scottish education secretary has set out three options for pupils who are due to sit exams this spring.

Nationals and Highers could still go ahead in schools with social distancing measures in place, though John Swinney said this would be "difficult".

The other options are delaying exams or using "alternative certification" methods, including coursework.

All Scottish schools will shut this week in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus.

John Swinney will update MSPs on plans for exams and the forthcoming school closures from 2pm.

Reports on social media suggest fraudsters are targeting the homes of older people and falsely offering coronavirus tests.

Red Cross Scotland has confirmed these are fake and the charity is not conducting tests anywhere in the UK.

Reevel Alderson
BBC Scotland Home Affairs correspondent

The justice system is not immune to the threat posed by Covid-19, but while courts will continue to function, restrictions have already been put in place.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS)announced on Tuesday, externalno new jury trials would take place in Scotland's High and Sheriff courts.

One, scheduled to begin at the High Court in Livingston, was postponed until September.

Jurors who had already been cited have been told not to go to court.

New directives have now been issued by the Lord President, the head of the judiciary and Scotland's senior prosecutor, the Lord Advocate.

They said while courts and tribunals will remain open, only those individuals required for proceedings, such as witnesses, accused and lawyers should attend.

In a statement , externalSCTS said there will be a significant reduction in summary criminal trials which take place in front of a sheriff or JP sitting alone.

It said: "We will focus on custody trials and by exception a small number of non-custody trials where witnesses are available.

"The non-custody trials are likely to be limited to cases relating to domestic abuse, sexual offending and violence."

It said strong case management should enable many cases to be resolved at an earlier opportunity without the need for a trial and witnesses being unnecessarily called.

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One result of the new arrangements is that more prisoners, remanded in custody, are likely to have to wait longer behind bars before their case comes before court.

There are strict rules about the length of time an accused person can be held in custody pending trial - 140 days - but these can be relaxed if an application is made to the court.

One concern about this is that increasing the number of remand prisoners in Scotland's jails - currently around 1,500 - could seriously increase pressure on the prison population which is already close to record levels.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has said if any prisoner shows symptoms of coronavirus they should isolate themselves in their cell for seven days.

The difficulty with this is over-crowding means very few prisoners are in a single-occupancy cell.

How will youngsters cope with isolation and social distancing? They are endlessly resourceful as this video shows.

A large number of Highlands schools have been closed or partially closed.

Seven secondary schools, including Alness Academy and Grantown Grammar, have been closed to S1-3 pupils and 19 primaries have been shut.

The closures involve more than 5,400 children.

Dumfries and Galloway Council has closed all its youth work services from today.

Some resources will be available online.

Some regions show significant drops in air pollutants as the coronavirus hits work and travel.

A national free helpline in Scotland is being launched as part of a community project involving around 500 convenience stores to help with shopping deliveries and to tackle loneliness.

Following a plea from Glasgow MSP Anas Sarwar, a number of organisations across Scotland have come together to build a unique community-led response to the coronavirus outbreak.

The service will act as a free hub for local groups across Scotland, and will be used to make connections between people and organisations.

Vulnerable individuals in Scotland can contact the free helpline on 0800 054 2282 (which will go live at 3pm today) if they need help with food deliveries or simply want someone to talk to because they feel lonely and isolated.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service has published new guidelines, external for criminal and civil business due to the impact of Covid-19.

No new jury trials are expected to commence before June.

Trials which are currently ongoing will, where possible, continue to their conclusion.

Social Bite, a social enterprise which aims to tackle homelessness, has received government funding to provide 3,000 free meals per day during the coronavirus crisis.

Founder Joshua Littlejohn said: "We are going to repurpose the whole focus of Social Bite, the whole purpose of our central kitchen over the next three months, to have a big nationwide delivery service for homeless people and for vulnerable people in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, and we'll try and get to Dundee as well."

The Glasgow Science Centre is one of the many public buildings to close due to the coronavirus but it has said it will be releasing free online science content every day at 10am for people who have to stay at home.

GSCAtHome is a dailydrop of science containing material from filmed experiments to podcasts, toursand interactive challenges. , external

Stephen Breslin, chief executive of Glasgow Science Centre, said: “Each day people will be able to see filmed science theatre experiments, we might take them on a tour of the galaxy from our planetarium, or share a blog or podcast."

Giancarlo Rinaldi
BBC South Scotland reporter

Image source, Dougie Johnston

The first Borders summer festival has been called off due to coronavirus.

Organisers of the Jethart Callant's Festival have cancelled this year's event - due, they say, to information from the Scottish government and the council.

Decisions as to whether other celebrations should go ahead are expected in other communities too.

A care home provider has appealed for university students and those "laid off" from the hospitality and retail sectors to get in touch about carer roles.

Renaissance Care has 14 homes for the elderly across Scotland and says it is looking to fill emergency positions.

It says staffing for the care homes will get more urgent as more people are affected by the coronavirus.

Renaissance Care has four care homes in both Edinburgh and Aberdeen, three across Glasgow and Lanarkshire and one each in Peterhead, Forres and Blairgowrie.

Robert Kilgour, chairman of Renaissance Care, said: "At a time of unbelievable uncertainty and crisis, it’s vital that we’re able to build a workforce ready to care for our vulnerable residents."

Hundreds of volunteers could be needed to maintain services during a staffing crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak, NHS Grampian has said.

The health board expects the impact of the virus itself on the workforce, coupled with the challenge of childcare with the closure of schools, will impact on staffing.

An appeal is being made for retired healthcare workers and nursing students to come forward.

Help with logistics is also needed. This would involve areas such as transport and deliveries.

NHS Grampian's nurse director Dr Caroline Hiscox said the range of roles could be "huge" and anticipated they would need "hundreds" of people.

BBC Radio Scotland

Mr Searson says there is a fairly straightforward solution: just use the existing coursework and teachers' judgement. Pupils have enough to deal with at the moment, he adds.

Teachers will continue to be paid and provide work for youngsters, the SSTA general secretary says.

He says parents must provide a timetable and structure at home for their children.