The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service website says: "Please make an extra special effort to give blood over the coming days, weeks and months.

"If you are fit and well and have not been impacted by COVID-19, it's important you come forward to donate."

BBC Radio Scotland

Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association general secretary Seamus Searson tells Kaye Adams: "I think you've got to be realistic, the exams aren't going to take place."

Mr Searons says everyone's health is the most important thing.

He points out the stress young people are under and calls for an early decision on exams.

"We need to just put the stress away, we're going to use the work you've already submitted, use the teacher's judgement and we'll give you a grade at the appropriate point."

The SSTA general secretary warns that to try and delay the examinations would create more problems and trying to do them piecemeal would be logistically very difficult, as it could put people at risk.

The SQA already have provisions for those who miss exams but it will have to be across the board this year, he says.

John Swinney will update MSPs on exams and school closure provisions from 2pm.

The 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.

Image source, Getty Images

Here's how the rest of the day is looking at the Scottish Parliament

11.40 am:General Questions

12.00 pm:First Minister's Questions

[1.40-2.00 pm:Portfolio Questions] –Subject to confirmation by Business Managers

2.00-3.00 pm:Ministerial Statement: Education – COVID-19

3.00-3.30 pm:Ministerial Statement: UK Coronavirus Legislation

3.30-4.30 pm:Stage 3 Amendments: Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Bill

4.30-5.00 pm:Stage 3 Debate: Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Bill

Jamie McIvor
BBC Scotland education correspondent

The Scottish government and councils are working urgently on this issue. We won't necessarily hear more details today but it is something the Scottish government has been well aware of.

Indeed one of the reasons some within education were keen to keep schools open until the last possible moment was because they were all too aware of the important social role schools play, perhaps as safe spaces for those who are vulnerable and in the delivery of free school meals.

We have been talking to some councils who have been looking at options such as voucher systems such as we have seen on Shetland where schools have been closed since Monday.

Another thing some have been discussing is the possibility of cooking the free meals and then delivering them to the families. We are expecting clarity on these issues soon but perhaps not today.

Jamie McIvor
BBC Scotland education correspondent

We are hoping to get clarity in parliament from education secretary John Swinney today

We know that work has been taking place in recent weeks on possible contingency arrangements and as things currently stand there are three options for the exam diet.

1. You can continue with the exam diet with some degree of social distancing but, of course, there are huge practical problems with doing that

2. Delay the exam season until later in the year

3 Put in place "alternative certification" - that's to say you look things like prior attainment, teacher judgement and award grades on that basis.

We are expecting some decision later today on what will be happening.

He added: "What I do know is that we are in a much more advanced position today about the delivery of education by means other than children attending school than we have been at any moment in our history.

"So we can use digital approaches to ensure that we sustain the education for young people around the country."

Deputy First Minister John Swinney told Good Morning Scotland the Scottish government would give legislative consent to the sweeping new emergency powers being pushed through at Westminster.

He said: "We really are in uncharted territory. We support those provisions because we believe them to be necessary for the circumstances that we face."

Mr Swinney said he wanted to assure the public the Scottish government would exercise its powers with the greatest degree of care.

Mr Swinney says the advise is very clear. For people over 70 and those with underlying health challenges the advice was to significantly reduce social contact.

"I would encourage people to follow the advice that has been issued," he said.

He said he appreciated this would cause disruption and he apologised.

The education secretary said he had taken the decision to close schools and nurseries but it was up to private childcare organisations to make their own decisions.

He said he hoped they would follow the guidance.

"Some private nurseries could continue to provide some of the support for essential workers' families to enable them those workers to get to work.

"We have got to have good open dialogue at local level to put those practical arrangement in place."

In relation to child-minders, there is no reason why they can't continue to operate as long as they follow the guidance at all times.

Education secretary John Swinney says there will be lots of digital learning available to pupils who are not in school.

What about those who don't have broadband?

Mr Swinney says schools have been working to find out who does not have access to broadband so they can work separately with those children.

"The key thing here is to understand our learners and to make sure we have the resources and arrangements in place that enable all of them to sustain their learning," Mr Swinney said.

Who else is the Scottish government working with?

He said he was also working with the BBC and the UK government to look at "strengthening educational television".

Seamus Searson, general secretary of the Scottish Seconday Teachers' Association, says alternative methods should be used to give young people the qualifications "they deserve"

Image source, Ge

He told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland his favoured option would be to give pupils assessments based on completed coureswork and previous performance.

Is this the end of the academic year?

"I suspect it will be, yes," says John Swinnney.

What about the exams?

The education secretary says there are three options:

1. We could continue to run an exam diet. "It may be possible with proper social distancing in place in schools but it is logistically very difference to our normal way of running exams," says Mr Swinney. He said children would need to be separated into smaller groups with many more invigilators.

2. Delay the exam diet and do it later in the year. "That is an option we can consider but there is an uncertainty as we don't know how long this is going to go on for."

3. An approach of alternative certification. This is where we look at course work and prior attainment and also the judgement of teachers.

Mr Swinney said those three options are being assessed "as we speak".

The Scottish Qualification Authority have been told to present him with a contingency option today and he expects to see that shortly.

Education Secretary John Swinney said a number of things could be done for children from poor and vulnervable families who relied on things like free school meals.

He said there could be financial help.

Mr Swinney said vouchers for food were given in lieu of free school meals.

He said there would be flexibility across the country to meet different needs.

Mr Swinney said it would take some time to get these arrangements worked out.

The health board is suspending visiting to all of its hospital wards in an effort to protect patients from coronavirus from Thursday onwards.

Image source, NHS Tayside

Visiting will continue in specific circumstances; for example patients receiving end-of-life care or those accompanying partners during childbirth.

This would have to be agreed following discussions with the senior charge nurse/midwife responsible for the clinical area.

John Swinney says he realises this will be "an enormously disruptive move" for members of the public but it was "the right thing to do".

The education secretary said he would be working with local authorities to make sure people who are critical to dealing with the coronavirus emergency to continue to have proper support and assistance for their children while they are at work.

He said key workers in hospitals and the community needed to be in work and not looking after their children.

He added that schools could enable essential workers to contribute to the emergency effort.

The Scottish government has confirmed schools will close from Friday afternoon.

Education Secretary John Swinney told Good Morning Scotland this was because the scientific advice had changed.

He said it was now thought it would be beneficial for schools to close to contribute towards stemming the spread of coronavirus.

He said it also became increasingly clear schools were struggling to sustain their operations because of members of staff having to self-isolate.

Education Secretary John Swinney speaks to BBC Radio Scotland about the decision to close school.

The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service says stocks are holding up for the moment, but donors not exposed to coronavirus should still keep making appointments online.

Image source, PA

Certain groups should NOT donate blood:

• If you have Covid-19
• You are self isolating because you have coronavirus symptoms
• You are self-isolating because a household member has symptoms

If you do not fall into these categories, Lynne Willdigg from SNBTS says: "If you are fit and well, if you are an existing donor, if you've thought about doing it for a long time and never done it and you are fit and well and not impacted by that criteria, it is important that you come along and donate."