Coronavirus in Scotland LIVE as covid recovery most important issue in election

First Minister said that case numbers in North East region taking in Forres, Elgin, Lossiemouth and Buckie, are more than four times higher than in the rest of the country which is due to move to Level 2 on Monday.Sturgeon said :“It’s against that backdrop that, unless the situation was to materially improve over the next few days, it would simply not be safe or sensible to ease restrictions there from Monday.”Read the full story.The “huge success” of the vaccination programme along with

First Minister will likely confirm the country can move to level two as of next Monday when she updates Scots at a media briefing later today. Speculation mounted last night that the Scottish Government will introduce a traffic light system by the end of the month which provide a list of foreign countries Scots can travel to without the need for quarantine.

coronavirus alert level has been downgraded as the number of deaths and hospitalisations continues to fall across the country. All of the country’s Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) agreed to move Scotland and the rest of the UK from level four to level three earlier today.

Gove laid out the Tory government strategy of talking up co-operation and talking down the constitutional row in response to the SNP election victory.

Scottish Tories of fuelling divisions in the country by focusing on the constitution.

Murray said: “The First Minister promised that this election would be about covid recovery, and we will be holding her to that.

Sturgeon and Labour’s Drakeford for wholesale constitutional change in light of SNP and Labour successes in Scottish and Welsh parliament elections. The Prime Minister hailed the success of the UK in the covid vaccine roll-out and emphasised the economic challenges will be a “serious shared responsibility”.

Students and staff at Scots higher education facilities are now able to access rapid coronavirus testing through their local college.More than 100,000 lateral flow testing kits have been distributed to colleges across Scotland to help detect cases in people with no symptoms.Authorities are urging people to take part in voluntary testing twice a week using the at-home kits.A limited number of students are currently allowed on to college campuses at any one time in line with current public health

Nicola Sturgeon has promised she will work with Anas Sarwar’s Labour to help rebuild Scotland in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

live TV debate between Scotland’s five main party leaders. Policy on covid recovery, foreign travel and the creation of a National Care Service was hammered out in a lively discussion.

holidays "within limits" this summer according to a leading expert, while ministers said the travel green list will be "coming soon". Peter Openshaw - Professor of Experimental Medicine at Imperial College London - said it was vital people do not drop their guard because there are likely to be further outbreaks of coronavirus.

first ‘unlocked’ weekend in months. Crowds of Scots are predicted to be out and about enjoying the good weather that is forecast across most of the country.

dramatic Prime Minister’s Questions is likely to dominate today’s agenda. Boris Johnson was framed as a liar in the Commons for failing to admit to alleged remarks about allowing to let “bodies pile high” instead of seeing another covid lockdown.

covid  "rip" than impose a second national lockdown, sources have claims. It's the latest allegations levelled at the  Prime Minister  who is facing growing criticism over his handling of the pandemic.

coronavirus infections continues to fall. The country can finally take its first real steps out of lockdown since Boxing Day.

new freedoms next week after Nicola Sturgeon confirmed lockdown will ease further as covid cases continue to fall. The First Minister announced the country will move to Level Three lockdown next Monday, leading to a raft of changes.

Nicola Sturgeon is set to give a live briefing later today to confirm the most important stage in the easing of lockdown restrictions. The First Minister will announce a list of changes due to begin next Monday 26 April.

furloughed and the most recent figures show a drop in the employment rate. Labour also aims to create 19,000 jobs through a new programme of social home building, 7,500 roles through energy efficiency upgrade work, a 10,000-strong Scottish Conservation Corps and 48,000 jobs through a kickstart scheme.

finally lifted today after more than four months, while groups of up to six people from six different households can also now legally meet outdoors. Until now, most Scots have been unable to invite people into their own homes for non-essential purposes since September and thousands of hospitality businesses remain shut.