 I remind members that social distancing measures are in place in the chamber and across the Holy Rood campus, and I ask that members take care to observe those measures, including when entering and exiting the chamber. Please only use the aisles and walkways to access your seat and when moving around the chamber. The next item of business is a statement. On the point of order, you will be aware that important Government announcements should be made first to the chamber before they are given to the press. At 14.40 this afternoon, key details of the statement about to be made by the First Minister, and in particular proposals to introduce vaccine certification, were posted on social media by the BBC in advance of the First Minister's statement to Parliament. I am sure that you would agree that this is a discuritise to Parliament. Will you investigate whether this has been a breach of standing orders by the Scottish Government? I have not had an opportunity to view the information to which Murdo Fraser refers, but it is certainly my expectation that any and all statements are made in the first instance to this Parliament wherever that is possible, and that would indeed seem to be the case on this occasion. I will look further into the issue. The next item of business is a statement by Nicola Sturgeon on Covid-19 update. The First Minister will take questions at the end of her statement. There should be no interventions or interruptions. I call on Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister. I will update Parliament today on the state of the pandemic in Scotland. I will discuss the recent surge in cases and give our best assessment of the current situation. I will outline the additional action that we are taking to try to slow transmission and reduce the spread of the virus. I will start with the latest daily statistics, albeit in summary form as they were published around an hour ago. 6,170 positive cases were reported yesterday, 11.5 per cent of tests carried out. 629 people are in hospital with Covid, 44 more than yesterday, 59 people are in intensive care, 5 more than yesterday and, sadly, a further nine deaths have been reported over the past 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths under the daily definition to 8,127. My condolences, as always, are with everyone who has lost a loved one. 4,108,804 people have received a first dose, 3,691,066 have now had both doses of vaccine. That includes 95 per cent of people over the age of 40 who are now fully vaccinated, as well as 71 per cent of 30 to 39-year-olds and 51 per cent of 18 to 29-year-olds. However, 74 per cent of 18 to 29-year-olds have had a first dose, so we expect the proportion becoming fully vaccinated to continue to increase in the days ahead. Finally, almost exactly half of all 16 and 17-year-olds have so far had the first jag vaccination in this age group started relatively recently and, of course, work to increase uptake further is on-going. All 16 and 17-year-olds who have not yet had a first dose should have received a letter yesterday inviting them to an appointment. As members are aware, we still await advice from the JCVI on vaccinating all 12 to 15-year-olds, and I very much hope that the evidence will allow the JCVI to give a positive recommendation very soon, and we stand ready to implement that if it is the case. I will talk more about the importance of vaccination later, but I want to address the surging cases that we have experienced over recent weeks. Case levels are 80 per cent higher now than they were last week, and they are five times higher than four weeks ago. Test positivity has risen from around 5 per cent at the start of August to 11.5 per cent today. Now, as we indicated at the time, it was always likely that, as restrictions were lifted, we would see cases rise. This is a highly infectious virus, so as people mix more together, it will take the opportunity to spread, and indeed cases are rising across all of the UK and in many other countries, too. In Scotland, though, unlike England and Wales, schools have been back for some time, and we also expected that that would create a further pressure, not just as a result of increased interactions within schools, but also because we know that there are certain ways school drop-offs, for example, in which adults tend to mix more when schools are back. However, despite expecting to see some increase in cases, the scale of the increase in recent weeks has been extremely concerning. There is no doubt that that underlines the fact that the delta variant is significantly more transmissible than previous strains. Just as vaccines have changed the game for us in a very good way, delta has changed it in a very challenging way, and that has been very evident to us in the past few weeks. That is why we have been reminding the public in recent days that, if we are to avoid any re-imposition of restrictions, even in a limited way, as we all want to do, we must all play our part to slow down transmission. We have been urging everyone to comply with all the basic mitigations still in place—face coverings, for example—and to follow carefully all public health advice. If we all do that, and I will again set out exactly what we are asking people to do later, I am hopeful that we can turn the corner without having to re-impose any restrictions. However, I must stress that the next few days will be crucial in our assessment. What is inescapably the case is that we must turn that corner and see the sharp increases in cases level off and then come down. Let me now explain again why that is so important, even with vaccination levels as high as they are. Absolutely remains the case that vaccination has significantly reduced the link between cases of Covid and serious health harms from Covid. The proportion of people with the virus who end up in hospital is much lower now than it was pre-vaccine. Indeed, that is why the record number of new cases reported in recent days has not caused a record number of hospital admissions. That is very positive, but it must not make us complacent. Although the link between new cases and serious health harm is now much weaker, it has not been completely broken, either here or anywhere else in the world. Many countries are grappling like us with the delta variant. We can see that very clearly in the recent data. On Friday 20 August, there were 312 people in hospital with Covid. Today, there are 629. The number of people in intensive care has risen more slowly, but it has risen. On 20 August, it was 34. Today, it is 59. Of course, hospital figures do not capture all of the health harm caused by Covid. For example, they include people who do not require hospital treatment but still go on to suffer long Covid. There is a matter of basic arithmetic at play here. If the recent surgeon cases were to continue, if, for instance, we were to see cases continuing to rise to 10,000 or more a day, something I hope will not happen but is by no means impossible, that will have serious consequences. A lot of people would fall seriously ill and, obviously, some people would die. The NHS would come under even more severe pressure. To reiterate, this is a matter of basic arithmetic. At the start of the year, daily reported cases peaked at around 2,600. At that time, pre-vaccines around 13 per cent of cases were ending up in hospital. Today, and this is good news, only around 2 to 3 per cent end up in hospital. Of course, 2 to 3 per cent of 10,000 cases a day will cause similar pressure on our NHS as 13 per cent of 2,600. That pressure is building at a time when many staff have been working flat out for more than 18 months and when the NHS is working hard to deal with the backlog of other cases that have been caused by earlier waves of the pandemic. The situation that we face just now is fragile and serious. We must stem the rise in cases. Obviously, it would not be responsible for any Government in the face of this virus, and the harm it can still do to rule out reintroducing any restrictions. Indeed, in my view, it would be grossly irresponsible. However, we do not want to re-impose restrictions even in a limited way. We know only too well how much harm restrictions themselves cause to businesses, young people's education and to our overall wellbeing. However, if that is to be avoided, as I very much hope it can be, it will take all of us making a conscious and concerted effort again to comply with all the basic mitigations that we know from experience can slow down transmission. Of course, that applies to both individuals and to businesses, so I want to set out briefly some of the work that the Government is doing, including on one particularly significant issue and what we are asking everyone—all of us—to continue to do. Over the past two weeks, cabinet secretaries have been engaging closely with business and sectoral organisations across the country to encourage significantly increased compliance with existing baseline measures. That includes the wearing of face coverings, encouraging stringent hygiene and support for continued home working where possible. I am very grateful to businesses across the country for the efforts that are being made to keep staff and customers safe, and I am particularly grateful to those businesses who are continuing to support home working. It is vital that those efforts continue. I know that they are not easy for business, but they are much less onerous than any further restrictions would be to them. We are also continuing to support urgent measures to improve ventilation in schools, for example the purchase and use of CO2 monitors. We are also looking urgently at options to support better ventilation in priority workplaces. We continue to do everything possible to drive up the already high uptake of vaccine. Getting vaccinated remains the single most important step that any of us can take to keep ourselves safe and keep others safe, so ensuring that as many people as possible get vaccinated remains an absolutely key priority. As I mentioned earlier, we expect updated advice from the JCVI soon on vaccination of 12 to 15-year-olds and on booster jabs for vulnerable groups such as older people and those with compromised immune systems. We will, and stand ready, to move to implement any extensions like that to the vaccine programme just as soon as we get the JCVI recommendations, and I very much hope that that will be soon. We are also taking targeted steps to increase uptake among groups who are already eligible. I mentioned earlier that an invitation letter has been sent recently to all 16 and 17-year-olds who have not yet had the first dose. Mobile vaccination units will be used during university and college freshers weeks to encourage those who have not already done so to get vaccinated and will be concentrating further effort in the days ahead to encourage anyone in the under-40 age group who has not had the vaccine yet or who has not taken up the second dose to do so now. It really is impossible to overstate the importance of vaccination in getting us safely through this phase and safely through the winter months ahead. By getting vaccinated, we help to keep ourselves and others safe, but the reverse of that is equally true. Not getting vaccinated if you are eligible puts yourself and others at greater risk, and it makes it less likely that we can make it through the winter without having to reintroduce some restrictions. To everyone out there who has not already had their jags, please do your civic duty. Please get vaccinated now for your own sake and for all of us. The final issue that I want to address is vaccine certification. That is where entry to some venues is dependent on people being able to show that they have been fully vaccinated. In recent months, there has been a lot of discussion about vaccine certification, and, as I have indicated before, the Government has been considering very carefully whether, notwithstanding the understandable equity and ethical concerns, vaccine certification could, in some settings, help protect public health, reduce the necessity for any further restrictions and, of course, boost vaccine take-up. The Scottish Government has made it clear that we do not believe that vaccine certification should ever be a requirement for any key services or in settings where people have no choice over attendance—for example, public transport, education, access to health services or shops—and we continue to hold very firmly to that position. However, we do consider that a limited use of vaccine certification could help to control the spread of the virus as we head into the autumn and winter. For any decision of this nature to have an impact before winter, we would have to take and implement it quickly. However, I recognise that it is a significant decision, so in my view it should be expressly authorised by Parliament. I therefore propose, subject to your agreement, that we have a full debate and vote on this matter next week. To help prepare for that, I will set out now what the Government, after much consideration, has concluded would be appropriate. We propose, subject to parliamentary agreement, that vaccination certification should be introduced later this month. Once all adults have had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated for the following events and venues. First, night clubs and adult entertainment venues. Second, unseated indoor live events with more than 500 people in the audience. Next, unseated outdoor live events with more than 4,000 people in the audience. Lastly, any event of any nature that has more than 10,000 people in attendance. We do not currently consider appropriate to introduce certification for the hospitality industry as a whole, and we hope that that will not be necessary. However, we will keep that under review. We are also very aware of the need to take account of people who, for good reason, cannot get fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine. For example, we envisage that children and people with particular medical conditions would be exempt. However, we consider that to help protect individuals and the country as a whole and reduce the risk of further restrictions being necessary. Those over 18 who are eligible for vaccination should be required to show that they have received both doses before entry to the premises and events that I mentioned. It is already possible to request that a paper copy of your vaccination record be posted to you to allow you to travel. However, from this Friday onwards, well in advance of any certification scheme coming into operation, we will also provide a QR code. That means that you will be able to download a copy of vaccination record to keep on a phone or print off. The introduction of Covid vaccine certificates, even in the limited circumstances that I have set out above, is a significant move, and not one that we would ever take lightly. That is why I believe that it should have parliamentary approval in advance. However, it is worth stressing that, although we have had to weigh this decision carefully, we would be in no way unique in taking this step. The UK Government has announced an intention to introduce certification for England and several European countries, including France, Italy and Ireland, have already introduced certification. In fact, the certification rules in several other countries cover a far wider range of venues than the ones that we are considering for Scotland. Many of the events and venues that are covered by any certification scheme are important. They matter to our economy and to our cultural and social life. That is why we want to enable them to stay open safely. However, they are not essential services, and the nature of them, which involves bringing many people together in relatively small areas, means that, despite their very best efforts—I know that they make their best efforts—they can continue to contribute significantly to the spread of the virus. By ensuring that people entering those settings are fully vaccinated, we would be taking a proportionate step to help to make those settings safer for everyone attending and, by extension, for all of us. As I said earlier, I fervently hope that vaccine certification aside, we do not have to impose any further legal restrictions. Of course, that depends on all of us making a concerted effort now through our own behaviours to stem transmission. What we do know is that we cannot let cases continue to rise at the pace of recent weeks. We must slow that pace down. That is important for all of us as individuals, but especially for those who are most vulnerable to Covid. We know that there are many of the people at highest risk, including many of those who were advised to shield at the start of the pandemic, who are particularly anxious right now about the current situation. They worry that, if they go out of their own homes, especially with cases so high, they could be put at risk by people not wearing face coverings or not washing their hands or not trying to keep a safe distance. That should be a reminder for all of us when we take basic precautions. We are not simply protecting ourselves, although we are, and that is important, but we are also making life easier and safer and helping to reduce anxiety for many others, too. I close by once again stressing the actions that each and every one of us needs to take in order to do that and to help to get cases down without further restrictions. First, as I stressed earlier, if you are eligible and have not yet done so, please get vaccinated. That is the single most important thing that any of us can do to keep everybody safe. There are drop-in vaccination centres in every mainland health board area. If you have not been vaccinated yet, or if you had your first dose eight weeks or more ago and you have not had your second dose, you can just turn up at your nearest centre and get the jag. Second, please test yourself regularly with lateral flow devices. If you do that, then if you have the virus but do not have symptoms, you still have a chance of finding that out before inadvertently passing the virus on to others. You can get free lateral flow tests through NHS Inform, they will be sent to you in the post, or you can collect them from local pharmacies or test sites. If you test positive through one of those devices, or if you have symptoms, make sure that you self-isolate and book a PCR test. You might also be told to self-isolate pending a PCR test, as I was at the start of this week, if you are a contact of someone who has tested positive. In any of those situations, please make sure that you do self-isolate. It remains a really important way in which we can all slow down the spread of the virus. Thirdly, and finally, please follow all the guidance that is still in place. Please remember that it is still a legal requirement to wear face coverings in indoor public places such as shops on public transport and when entering and moving about hospitality settings. That is a simple but important way in which we can all protect each other. More generally, please meet outdoors as much as possible. I know that that gets harder as the weather moves into autumn. If you are indoors, open windows and good ventilation makes a big difference and avoid if you can crowded places. Indeed, for the next couple of weeks, perhaps all of that should think carefully about the number of contacts we are having and perhaps reduce any that are unnecessary. Even though it is not the law anymore, keep a safe distance from people in other households if you can, especially indoors. Minimize direct physical contact such as hand shaking, for example, and keep washing your hands and surfaces thoroughly. Having to take those steps is frustrating for us and for people across the world, but it really does make a difference. We know that from experience. It helps to limit the spread of the virus, and we must do that. We must do it to keep ourselves and our loved ones safer, and we must do it to help to ensure that we can avoid the need for any further restrictions. The next few days are crucial. The Government is doing everything that it can and will continue to do so, but, as has been the case throughout, we need your help, too. Please get vaccinated, get tested and tighten up again on following all the rules and guidelines. The First Minister will now take questions on the issues raised in her statement. I intend to allow around 40 minutes for questions after which we will move on to the next item of business, and it would be helpful if members who wish to ask a question were to press their request to speak butons now. I call Douglas Ross. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Covid rates are very high, and it is a reminder that the virus has not gone away. We have to learn to live with Covid-19 from a better place due to the success of the vaccination programme across this country. We have to focus on the vaccine and on test and protect, because we cannot force more restrictions back onto the people of Scotland, and we know that it would risk their mental health and result in job losses. Barry McCulloch of the Federation of Small Businesses, appearing before a Scottish Parliament committee this morning, said that many small business owners are quite naturally concerned about the prospect of further restrictions and lockdowns. He said that businesses were in survival mode, and he is right. We need the Scottish Government to listen to our businesses and respond to their concerns. RNHS is nearing breaking point 2. People cannot see their GP in person, they are waiting hours on end for an ambulance, and they are being told to stay away from A and E departments, and even if they get in, they are facing horrendously long waits. Let us be clear that Covid is not overwhelming RNHS, as the First Minister said in her statement. It is her health secretary's failures that are overwhelming RNHS. He has shown poor leadership in action and delays that have overwhelmed our health service. The First Minister has just announced her plans to introduce vaccine certification, but just a month ago, John Swinney, her Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery, said that this was the wrong way to handle it. Can I ask the First Minister what has changed in the last month from what John Swinney said to her announcement today? When will the Scottish Government provide businesses with specific guidance on how to manage the scheme, and will they be expected to police it themselves? If so, will there be further Government support provided to them? Finally, the First Minister said that she would not introduce this to hospitality venues at the moment, but would keep that under review. Will she ensure that a meaningful dialogue with the hospitality sector during that period listens to their concerns, and if she believes that vaccine certification is required in hospitality venues, will that also require a vote in Parliament and parliamentary approval? I hope that the First Minister was able to catch the questioning clearly. Forgive me, Presiding Officer. I did hear the question. I am not sure what the noise in the background was, but I am sure that it was understandable, whatever it was. Let me try to take the questions in turn. I think that it is really important for all of us to focus on the detail and the complexities of this. 18 months into this, it is still the case that this is not a normal political situation where who said what when, and as a politician saying the same now as they said a few weeks ago, is as relevant as it is on other issues. We are all trying to assess the evidence to learn as we go and to make sure that we are carefully considering all the pros and cons of every particular decision. I hope that all politicians will continue, as most have done throughout this, to engage with that in detail and in substance. On the issue of restrictions, nobody wants to impose greater restrictions. I absolutely understand the concerns of businesses and individuals that the virus may increase at a pace and in a way that makes that unavoidable again. I do not want that to happen. Nobody wants that to happen. Equally, I do not want to see people die unavoidably from Covid and I do not want to see more and more people become seriously ill and I do not want the pressure on our health service to build so that we see people with other conditions not being treated either. It would be an irresponsible politician who ruled anything out in the face of an infectious mutating virus and I am not going to do that. I know that we have all got a part to play here, particularly because this Parliament is the collective leadership of Scotland of coming together and persuading people of what we need to do to avoid restrictions. Instead of simply going on about how terrible restrictions would be, which we all agree with, let us focus on saying to people that here is what if we do, we will help to avoid that. That is what I have tried to set out in the statement today and I hope that all of us will get behind these essential public health measures. On the issue of vaccine certification, I have said that Parliament is virtually twice over the summer and members and those watching will have heard me say this. We have been very carefully considering this. We have not ruled it out and have been very clear not to rule it out but we have made sure that we have considered carefully some of the ethical and equity issues and practical issues involved. We have come to a point now where we think that a limited and careful use of vaccine certification can have a role to play. Given the significance of this, as I said in my statement, I think that it is right that Parliament votes on that and authorises it. If we were to decide to extend it to other settings, I think that that would be equally important that Parliament had the ability to authorise that as well. I will set out more fully next week the details of that and what we are asking Parliament to vote on. We are in a situation right now and we are far from alone. We see this certainly across the UK and much of the rest of the world right now where Delta has significantly changed the game. It is a different variant of the same virus but in many respects, because of its greater transmissibility, it feels like a different virus and we have got to respond to that properly. What I do know right now is that the same basic mitigations can help to slow it down, as was the case with earlier strains of the virus. That is why we must continue to get those messages across and ask people to continue to do all of those important things, including, of course, the importance of vaccination. My condolences to all those who have lost a loved one, nine deaths in the last 24 hours is a tragic reminder that lives are still at risk of being lost from this virus. I would like to again thank Scotland's heroic workforce, not least our NHS and care workers, who continue to work under immense pressure. It is clear that the virus is out of control. Case numbers are soaring and reaching record levels this week. Hospitalisations continue to climb. Thousands of Scots are self-isolating and there is widespread confusion about the quarantine and testing requirements. PCR tests are running out in some areas and contact tracing has only been carried out in less than half of cases. Test and protect is clearly not fulfilling its function. The First Minister is right to say that we can never rule out restrictions, but the tools that the Government is responsible for clearly are not working. Restrictions cannot be a fallback for Government failure. I look forward to seeing the proposals next week on Covid certification, but I ask the First Minister what engagement has been happening directly with the sectors that are involved to make sure that they are part of the processes and procedures that will follow from those decisions. On the vaccine programme, I welcome the mobile clinics on university and college campuses, but can we go further and have them in schools so that we can target the 16 and 17-year-olds? At large workplaces and at large events. We also need to start planning for winter now, so can I ask what specific planning is taking place for the winter pressures that we are going to see, not just with Covid but also with flu and also the wider NHS pressures? When will the booster programme begin and what plans are in place to ensure that the roll-out of the flu vaccine and the booster vaccine can happen simultaneously? The Government's strategy, if there is one and the tools are not working and the virus is clearly out of control. So, can I finally ask the First Minister what is the strategy? Is it virus suppression, is it virus elimination or is it herd immunity? At the moment, we are achieving none of them. That last question, Anna Sarwar, should know the answer to, because it was set out in a revised strategic update. I announced it to Parliament and he asked me questions about it at the time. Our strategic objective is to reduce and keep the virus at levels sufficient to reduce the harms from the virus. If that was not known to Anna Sarwar, what can I gently suggest it should be? He said that it is not working. Every country is grappling with a highly transmissible strain of this virus. We have had a spike in cases early July when we had case levels that were the highest in the UK. We then had a period through the rest of July into much of August where we had the lowest case levels in the UK. Our schools have gone back ahead of other parts of the UK, so we are seeing a rise again. That is not different to what most other parts of the world are grappling with. Anna Sarwar is wrong, but can I also just take issue with the point about winter planning in the NHS? If Anna Sarwar is saying to me that we should be starting winter planning now, then I could not disagree with that more strongly. We started winter planning a long time ago. If we were simply starting it now, then we would be seriously remiss. We set out the NHS recovery plan last week, which is integral not just to the medium-to-long-term recovery of the NHS, but also to ensure that the NHS is equipped to deal with the variety of pressures that it will face in the winter. Test and protect is working extremely well. PCR test kits come via the UK Government. There have been some pressures on those in recent weeks, but those pressures have been met by new supplies arriving. Most people are getting their PCR test results within 24 hours. Test and protect is working well. The contact tracing is being targeted on the highest risk areas first. That system will always be under pressure when case numbers are high, but it is working well, and I am deeply grateful to those across the system who are putting in so much effort to make sure that it is working well. On the booster campaign, again, I have said this so many times—directly to Anasawa and to others—we await the JCVI recommendation, because if we do not take the JCVI recommendations on those things, we are simply taking decisions that many people rightly would turn round and tell us did not have the right evidential base. However, we are ready to get the booster campaign under way as soon as the JCVI gives final recommendation. We have interim recommendations that have been the planning basis for that. I think that people can hear from me and have heard from me before that I am frustrated that we have not yet got updated advice on 12 to 15-year-olds. I hope that, like many other countries, we can start to vaccinate in that age group soon and that the JCVI does feel able soon to say that the evidence allows them to recommend that. Again, we stand ready to do that as quickly as we are able to. We are looking at different ways to reach 16- and 17-year-olds schools, and some health boards are already looking at taking vaccination directly into schools, and that process will continue. All of those things we will continue to do, but we come back to the central point here. This is an infectious virus that has got a lot more infectious. All of us need to make sure that we are playing our part. As politicians and as leaders of the country, all of us need to play our part in getting those messages across, and the Government will continue to lead by example in doing that. Alex Cole-Hamilton Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. The First Minister will understand the real concerns of Liberal Democrats and others on the introduction of what some have described as medical ID cards. This Government has moved effectively to a position where people will now be compelled both to receive medical treatment and then provide their personal data in order to access certain freedoms. This is an illiberal step. Other IT systems, particularly around test and protect, have proved insufficient to the challenge of big data in a Covid context. Does the First Minister have faith in the IT systems that will back this up, considering that systems are creaking everywhere else? Can she tell Parliament that this measure will be time-bound, or if it's here to stay if we have to live with Covid? Does she understand the very real concerns of those worried about the impact on civil liberties? The First Minister I think that anybody who has heard me talk about vaccine certification will know that I do understand the concerns. I share some of the concerns. This is not a move that any Government should take lightly, but frankly I am also deeply concerned and have been for 18 months, as I know everybody has been, about the harm that Covid does. We need to consider every possible tool at our disposal that helps us to protect people from the harm of Covid. Increasingly, after so long, we have to particularly consider any tools that can help us to reduce the harm of Covid without the need to impose wider and more blanket restrictions on people's way of life. Using vaccine certification in a very limited way, I think, can help us to do that. The kind of venues and events that I have spoken about, large-scale events and nightclubs, adult entertainment venues, are important to our economy. They are important for many people to cultural life. I am not underplaying the importance of nightclubs to young people, for example, but they are venues where, despite the best efforts of those who run them, the conditions in them make it more likely that the virus will spread. Taking a proportionate step of asking people to make sure that they are fully vaccinated to protect themselves and others, I think, would be an appropriate thing to do. IT systems that are supporting our efforts on Covid are not creaking. Everybody is under pressure from Covid, but, of course, all the systems and all the back-up arrangements for anything like that have to be robust. That is why we have taken such a careful approach to this. It is why we are taking time, for example, to finalise and launch the app that will support some of this, and that will happen later this month. Those things are really important. I think that they have a part to play, but I also think that it is important that the Parliament gives authorisation. On the time, the longevity of all of this, I do not think that it is either possible or sensible to be definitive about that right now. This is a global pandemic that we are still in, and for as long as any measure can help us to reduce the harm that it does, then I think that it is one that we should consider having in place. John Mason I wonder if the First Minister could say anything about the Government's thinking on face coverings moving forward. I am particularly thinking perhaps about schools, where there was a suggestion that it would be a limited period, places of worship and perhaps people in sports stadia when they are sitting outside. Face coverings play a really important part in helping to stop the spread of the virus. We will regularly review the requirement to wear face coverings, and any reviews of course take account a range of factors, impact on transmission, as well as social and economic considerations. Face coverings continue to be worn by staff in all-school communal areas and by staff in pupils in secondary school classrooms. In indoor areas of sports stadiums, stairwells, toilets, concurses, wearing of masks also remains mandatory. We continue to make the stakeholders across all sectors to discuss guidance in face coverings. We know, for example, that this is particularly important for faith communities. Face coverings, in particular, is one of the measures that, like any measure, should not be kept in place for longer than we deem it necessary, but for long as it is necessary, I think that most people—I appreciate not everybody, but most people consider that it is a reasonably small price to play to help to keep themselves and others safe and to hopefully avoid the need for greater and more stringent restrictions. Murdo Fraser On the issue of vaccine certification, we know that there are still adults who have difficulty in accessing vaccinations for a variety of reasons. Indeed, as of today, 17 per cent of over 18 in Scotland have not been doubly vaccinated. Given that backdrop, would the Scottish Government consider allowing evidence of a negative Covid test as an alternative to vaccination certification as a means of entry to the venues that the First Minister outlined? I will come to that point directly in a moment, but on the point about there are some people finding it difficult to get vaccinated—I mean this point generally, I am not trying to make a political point here—there are some people who cannot get vaccinated because of a health condition or age, and it is important that any vaccine certification scheme takes account of that. However, anybody who is eligible—I would seriously question whether anybody has difficulty getting vaccinated that stops them doing it right now. There may be someone who will work to overcome that, but there are drop-in centres in every part of mainland Scotland. People have been offered appointments. I would say to people that if you are eligible to get vaccinated, there is no reason not to do so. If there is some reason that I am not aware of, get in touch with NHS Inform or your local health board and I am sure a way will be fine to overcome that. It is really important that all of us get that message across. If you are eligible, there is no reason why you can and should not be getting the vaccine right now. My segue into the next part of the question is that I do not think that we should say that we will allow a negative Covid test in order to effectively let people off the hook if they are eligible of getting vaccinated. Vaccination is really important to keep the country safe. There is, though, an argument to consider. We are not proposing that we do that initially, but there is an argument to consider longer term whether you would add a negative test to the certification. If you were not able to get vaccinated, for example, set of a straightforward exception, whether a negative test might be an alternative. We are not proposing to introduce that initially, but it will be one of the things that we keep under consideration. Constituents of mine have had issues with access to local services such as cafes and restaurants. I was visiting France at Scotland's paper that Covid vaccination certification is not accepted. Only a valid QR code as recognised by France's past sanitary system is permitted, so I welcome this afternoon's announcement. However, the UK Government also has issues with the European Commission in having the UK certification and QR code accepted across Europe. Although I note that some countries including France are an exception to that rule. I ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government is confident that, once we roll out the QR code system here in Scotland, it will be accepted internationally and have representation to be made to European countries and the European Commission to make sure that it will be accepted for Scots who are visiting Europe. That is an important question. We have been engaging actively with the commission to ensure that our app meets the required standards. The Scottish Government is also part of the UK Government's application to join the EU's eHealth gateway scheme along with the other devolved nations. We have already successfully tested our QR codes with Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Ireland and Northern Ireland, and we continue to expand the list of countries that we have tested ahead of the release of the QR code on Friday. More generally, it is the role of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to liaise with international countries on behalf of the UK. The Scottish Government has been working closely with it and Border Force to ensure that its Covid status solutions are recognised and accepted worldwide. There is work on going here, but I absolutely recognise the importance of making sure that all of that is done to a satisfactory standard. Jackie Baillie For months, MSPs across the chamber have raised their concerns about test and protect being overwhelmed and under resourced. Today's contact tracing figures from Public Health Scotland expose the real difficulties at the heart of test and protect. In the last week, only 43 per cent of cases have been completed, and the average number of primary contacts has dropped to an all-time low of 1.5. No wonder it's spreading, and, as the First Minister just said, the focus is on highest risk cases. That means that only on those who have largely tested positive and testing close contacts appears to have been all but abandoned. The First Minister understands the importance of test and protect in controlling the virus, so will she provide it with the necessary resources to properly track down and contain Covid-19? Test and protect is properly resourced. We continue to keep it resourcing under review, and we continue to work with it to ensure that it can meet the demands on it. Demands will always be higher when cases are higher, but the suggestion that often you get the sense from the opposition questions that the virus is only circulating in Scotland. We are seeing countries across the world grapple with Delta on contact tracing through test and protect. I know from my own experience this week that close contacts are being asked to get tested, and I know many other people who are in that position. People should put a lot of faith in test and protect, but people should also remember—I have said that repeatedly throughout the pandemic—that test and protect is not our first line of defence. We are all our first line of defence, so we have all got to behave in a way that tries to limit transmission. That is the key message. I think that we have all got a duty to communicate to people right now. First Minister, on the booster campaign, and I note to reply to Anasawa regarding the JCVI, but can you share with the chamber your preferred timetable for booster vaccines for the very vulnerable, the elderly and health and care workers, for example, which surely must alleviate pressures on the NHS and reduce deaths? This is certainly true of 12 to 15-year-olds. Assuming that the evidence says that it is safe to do, I want to get that done as quickly as possible. As soon as we can get a recommendation, and I hope that that is soon, we want to get on with that. I am tempted to say the same for booster campaigns, but one of the issues that the JCVI is looking at is what is the optimal interval between somebody getting their first dose and then getting a booster dose. While the temptation on the part of people like me is to get on with that as quickly as possible, if we are reducing the effectiveness by doing it now as opposed to in a month's time, that is obviously a material consideration. That is why we need to wait on that final recommendation. The important thing for us right now is that we are ready to go as soon as the JCVI says that that is appropriate. I know that some other countries are starting to schedule booster vaccines as well, and Israel is probably the country that is earliest with that, but they were also quite early in terms of their original vaccinations. As soon as the evidence tells us that it is right to do, we are ready to get on with it. Maureen MacNear I am sure that the First Minister will share my concerns about the high level of positive Covid-19 cases across both East and West Abarthonshire. To tackle that worrying trend, can the First Minister outline what additional measures have been taken to address the challenges in the areas with the highest prevalence of cases? Obviously, I have indicated our intention, subject to parliamentary approval, on vaccine certification, but notwithstanding that the current systems that are in place for outbreak management will continue. We continue to maintain daily watch lists, which provide information and trends that inform us about the status of the virus across the country. We have provided Greater Glasgow and Clyde, given the areas that the member raises, with more than £11 million of funding as part of the targeted community testing programme. That is also supported by the mobile testing unit fleet, which is run by the Ambulance Service, and we have provided the Ambulance Service with additional funding to increase its capacity to. There is a range of things that are being done to support local response appropriately, and it will be important that that continues throughout the challenging phase. The news that eight health boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, are in the top 20 Covid hotspots across Europe, is concerning, and while we are all thankful that the vaccination programme has been an incredible Scottish and UK success story, it has been revealed that just four in 10 people who downloaded the app are still using it. First Minister, given the latest WHO statistics on the prevalence of the virus in Scotland, do you agree that the test and protect figures are unacceptable, and if so, what further measures is your Government taking to promote the app's usage at every turn? I believe that the app is an important part of test and protect. It has never been the whole part of test and protect, but I take every opportunity to remind people to download the app, use the app and make sure that the app is turned on so that it can provide the support that we want it to. I hope that everybody across the chamber will do that as well and take the opportunity to remind our constituents of that. We also have to remind people to do all the other basic things, such as face coverings, wash our hands, keep a safe distance even though it is not the law, and ventilate rooms. I believe that, to a large part, based on previous experience, that if we all do all those things, we can turn this corner, we can start to see cases level off and come down. Again, we know that from experience, it will not happen by itself, it will only happen because we do the things that stem transmission. The Government is in the lead in terms of responsibility for doing all the things that we have to do and in persuading the public to do likewise, but all of us across the chamber, as the collective leadership of the country, have a role to make sure that we are getting those messages across. Neil Gray Thank you, Presiding Officer. I thank the First Minister for her statement. Some of my constituents who are due to go to university are getting mixed experiences and expectations on whether they are going to get face-to-face teaching. Can the First Minister please clarify whether face-to-face teaching can happen and what her expectations would be for universities in communicating that with their students? Given the concerningly high case numbers in Lanarkshire, can she outline what support has been provided to NHS Lanarkshire at this extremely testing time? We have, and continue to work closely with universities and colleges to prepare and publish guidance for them for the new academic term. That has been informed by expert advice that the Covid advisory subgroup on universities and colleges has provided. I can confirm that in-person learning can happen. However, we understand and I would support that most universities and colleges will be operating a blended learning approach, which will see some learning continue to be online at least for the start of the academic year. I would expect institutions because this is their responsibility to clearly communicate that to students because it will be given the nature of courses, not an entirely consistent picture across different courses. On the issue around NHS Lanarkshire, we continue to both liaise with and provide support to all NHS boards to help them to cope both in a public health sense in terms of local outbreak management but also through the NHS recovery plan and the winter planning, which is already under way, and NHS Lanarkshire receives support as part of that. I have some concerns about how the introduction of vaccine certification could affect disabled people, those with underlying health conditions and those from the global south who may not be able to access proof of vaccination from the countries that they were vaccinated in. How will the Scottish Government ensure that this does not negatively impact those that I have already mentioned and those most at risk from the virus? Will the Scottish Government write to the UK Government to ask for an extension of furlough to be available should Scotland need it? On that latter point, yes. We have continued to argue for the extension of furlough and we will continue to do that. I think that we had reached an agreement earlier on in the pandemic that financial support has to come through the UK Government because we do not have the borrowing powers would flex depending on the public health situation in each of the four nations and I hope that that will be respected. That said, and I should underline this point again that I made earlier on. I do not want to be in the position if we can atoll avoid it of imposing any restrictions, so I hope that that is a hypothetical point, but nevertheless it is an important one that we should have understanding around. The points about vaccine certification are well made. I have made some of them myself. We will continue to, as we develop those proposals further and as we bring them to Parliament, I have indicated today for example that we are already envisaging exemptions for some who cannot get vaccinated. There are issues, yes, of people who have been vaccinated in other countries and how we recognise that here. Of course, some of the work that is currently being done around international travel and recognition of vaccines will have a part to play there. We will sit out more detail when we bring those proposals to Parliament for debate next week, but I would encourage any members across the chamber who have practical or detailed questions right now to send those to us and we will try as we develop those proposals to make sure that we are addressing all of them. I have a question for the First Minister on the certification decisions. We have had an update that says that a QR code will be arranged from Friday. I assume that that is an interim arrangement and that there will still be an app launched. Will the First Minister give the chamber any more detail on when that app might be launched and how it might work where a QR code might be open to a little bit of abuse in terms of being shared around people who might not be vaccinated? The QR code that I have spoken about that goes live on Friday is not a substitute for the app. The app is currently under testing and it is important that we do test it properly. It is scheduled to be released right now at the end of September. The date at the moment is 30 September. It has also been designed to meet the EU standards for international travel. I referred to some of that earlier on. It will provide access to individuals' NHS Scotland-held vaccination records. That will come later in September after all the robust testing that is required. The QR code is an interim measure until that happens. A recent medical and dental defence union of Scotland survey shows writing levels of stress among key medical and dental staff. With a Cabinet Secretary for Health attacking GPs, causing my colleagues a lot of distress, Covid, pushing my NHS colleagues to the brink through exhaustion, is it any wonder that the survey shows 50 per cent of GPs and 70 per cent of dentists saying that they are more likely to leave the profession, pushing our NHS deeper into crisis? May I ask the First Minister how she is going to ensure that my colleagues do not leave as it would be an unmitigated disaster if they did? I refer to my declaration of interest as a practicing doctor and a member of the MDT US. First Minister, the health secretary indeed no member of this Government attacked GPs and it is disgraceful to suggest otherwise, frankly. When I launched the NHS recovery plan at the Golden Jubilee hospital in Clydebank last week, as I was doing that, I made the point that the GPs have been working extremely hard throughout this pandemic. At the start of the pandemic, I visited a GP practice to launch the roll-out of the near me service, so even though face-to-face consultations have been understandably restricted, GPs have been saying patients online and in other ways home visits, for example. To say that we want to not move away from the more virtual arrangements that have worked well during the pandemic, but to get back to more of a face-to-face approach to primary care is not attacking GPs. I think that it is incumbent on all of us not to engage in suggestions like that. The point about the stress and the anxiety and the exhaustion of many members of the NHS workforce is very well made and it is one that we recognise. That is why a significant part of the NHS recovery plan talks about the support that is being put in place to try to support the mental and physical health and wellbeing of NHS staff. The NHS, often some of our discussions talk about hospitals and health centres, the bricks and mortar of the NHS. The NHS is nothing without the dedicated people who work in it and it is vital that we support them, which is one of the reasons why I am proud and much as I would love us to be able to go further, that for agenda for change staff in the NHS, we have given them the highest pay rise of any part of the UK in this year. Rona Mackay The UK obstetric service published research last month, which showed the number of pregnant women being admitted to hospital with Covid-19 across the UK is increasing, with many experiencing acute symptoms. What message does the First Minister have for pregnant women who are unsure about getting the vaccine? Pregnant women should come forward for vaccination. I recognise that there have been concerns, but many working in midwifery and obstetrics, for example, have also made the point that pregnant women should come forward. It is safe to do. In fact, the risks have not been vaccinated outwey any risks of vaccination. Obviously, uptake levels are high for vaccination and that is a good thing, but we know that anybody who is not vaccinated right now is posing a greater risk to themselves and creating a vulnerability for the population as a whole. We want everybody who is not yet vaccinated to come forward. We are making particular efforts in the days to come for the under-40s group. Again, it is one of the things that I would appeal to all members in their own constituencies to make sure that they communicate very clearly to those that they serve. Given that the Government has effectively ended testing and protecting its schools, and that need for a negative PCR test before it returns to school in circumstances where a student's close contact with someone who is tested positive is within a school setting, rather than, for example, an overnight stay and they are not displaying symptoms, can I ask the First Minister what assessment the Government has made of the extent to which this changing policy is contributing to the current rise in the number of cases, including transfer between school and home. The EIS has called for a reversal of this policy, but given reports of people having to travel some distance to get a PCR test, the delays in testing protect follow-up close contacts, do we even have the testing and tracing capacity if this policy was reversed? Yes. One of the things that anybody can see by looking at the data for the last few days is that, while we have had record numbers of cases being reported, we have also had record levels of testing. We have the testing capacity through testing protect and I will continue to defend those working in testing protect because they are doing a great job and we will continue to support them with the resourcing and the capacity they need. It is not true and it is not helpful to say that a test and protect approach has been abandoned in schools. What we did and we set this out to Parliament was modify that approach because we know that in the last term there were many young people who were being asked to isolate and therefore missing out on education when they probably did not have to do that. We are now taking a more risk-based approach and that is kept under constant review. As with anything here, if we feel that we need to go backwards, we do not want to do that, but if we feel that we need to go backwards and put in place greater protections, that will be done. Of course, we are taking a number of other steps to try to ensure that the school settings are reducing any risk of transmission and ventilation and CO2 monitoring is a key part of that. Reports have been circulating about a shortage of testing kits in the walk-in PCR testing centre in Greenock, in addition to people who have been sent elsewhere for PCR tests. Can the First Minister provide an assurance that the facilities in the kit at this centre will be replenished to help the people of Greenock and Inverclyde? I alluded to this earlier on. I am aware that some people experienced difficulties accessing tests last week due to a shortage of kits. The UK Government supplies the test kits and the health secretary has raised that with the secretary of state. However, as there have been these pressures, we have been getting new supplies to make sure that the testing kits continue to be available. However, as with all aspects of testing, we continue to liaise very closely. At an earlier stage of the pandemic, we had pressures on the lighthouse laboratory capacity and we worked collaboratively to resolve those. That will be the case here as well. It is vital that, as long as we are in a situation of rising cases or high levels of cases, PCR testing is there for those who need it. I know that the Greenock site was fully booked earlier last week, and we continue to work to make sure that capacity is there. As I said earlier on, most people get their PCR tests back relatively quickly, which is important, given particularly now that the rules around self-isolation for close contacts have changed. To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to increase Covid-19 testing capacity in Argyllyn bute. Jenny Minthill, for that it is an important question. For those with symptoms, we have extended PCR home test kit coverage and the 119 courier collection service to the islands of Bute and Mull. Local partners have the option of extending that further if required. There is also a walk through local test site, a number of mobile testing unit deployments and 10 small-scale test sites across Argyllyn bute. People with symptoms can book a test at these sites or order a home test kit through NHS Inform. People who do not have symptoms can access lateral flow tests by ordering online or getting from a community pharmacy or going to a community test site. Local residents can find the site locations and opening hours on their local authority website. That concludes the First Minister's statement on Covid-19 update. There will be a short suspension before the next item.