 Good afternoon and welcome to this virtual meeting of the Scottish Parliament. The first item of business is a statement by Nicholas Sturgeon on Covid-19 update. The First Minister will take questions at the end of her statement, and so there should be no interventions or interruptions, and I call on Nicholas Sturgeon. I will update Parliament today on the decisions that the Government has reached in relation to Covid restrictions. In doing that, I will reflect on the mix of positive and more challenging developments that we have experienced recently. I will emphasise that this is a time for continued caution for Government to take the tough decisions necessary to help safeguard the health and wellbeing of the country. That means that, while Scotland will move to level 0 from next Monday, we will do so with certain modifications to our original indicative plans. That is intended to ensure that our pace of easing restrictions is sensible in light of the challenge that we continue to face from the Delta variant. I will also confirm that certain mitigations, such as the mandatory wearing of face coverings, will remain in place, not just now, but in all likelihood, for some time to come. It is important to stress that measures such as the continued wearing of face coverings are important not just to give added protection to the population as a whole, but also to give protection and assurance to those among us who are particularly vulnerable and who previously had to shield. Lifting all restrictions and mitigations right now would put all of us at greater risk, but in particular it would make it much more difficult for the most clinically vulnerable to go about their normal lives. It would risk the imposition of shielding by default, and in my view that is not something that we should do. Before I turn to the detail of all of this, let me summarise today's statistics. The total number of positive cases reported yesterday was 2,529. 11.5 per cent of all tests. The total number of confirmed cases is now 318,566. There are currently 506 people in hospital, 37 more than yesterday and 41 people in intensive care, one more than yesterday. Sadly, four more deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths under this daily definition to 7,761. As always, my condolences go to everyone who has lost a loved one. 3,941,571 people have now received a first dose of vaccine, an increase of 7,163 since yesterday, and 10,286 people got a second dose yesterday, bringing the total number of second doses to 2,903,557. The continued success of the vaccination programme continues to give us real hope. We are now in the final stages of offering first doses to all adults. More than 80 per cent of 30 to 39-year-olds have had a first dose, along with around two thirds of 18 to 29-year-olds, and all 18 to 29-year-olds have now had a first dose appointment scheduled. Turn to second doses. Virtually all over 60s have now had both doses. Uptake is 96 per cent among 55 to 59-year-olds, 89 per cent in 50 to 54-year-olds and 61 per cent so far in 40 to 49-year-olds. Second dose appointments are being scheduled eight weeks after a first dose, so in the next couple of weeks coverage of 40 to 49-year-olds will get much closer to the levels achieved for older age groups. Walk-in vaccine centres are now open in all mainland health board areas for anyone over 18 who hasn't yet had a first dose or who received a first dose eight weeks or more ago. I appeal again today to everyone who is due to receive a first or a second dose to get it as quickly as possible. It is the single most important thing that any of us can do to protect ourselves and each other and get all of us back to normal. As I said earlier, in coming to today's decisions, the Government has had to weigh up both positive and more challenging developments. The continued progress of the vaccine programme is obviously positive. Also encouraging is that case numbers, which were rising sharply two weeks ago, now appear to have levelled off. In fact, they have fallen in recent days. To illustrate that, in the week to 4 July, an average of 3,300 positive cases per day were recorded. That is now just under 2,700, which is a reduction of more than 15 per cent. That said, cases are still high, more than twice the level that they were at when I last updated Parliament. Of course, not all cases are confirmed through testing. Although the current fall is encouraging, we must continue to monitor all data, including, for example, on waste water sampling, to make sure that we have the fullest possible picture. Another positive is that vaccination is definitely weakening the link between case numbers and severe acute illness. In January, more than 10 per cent of people who tested positive had to go to hospital. That is now around 3 per cent. It is also the case that people admitted to hospital with Covid are being discharged more quickly than previously. All of that reflects the fact that a much greater proportion of cases now are in younger people, who are much less likely to become seriously ill. However, for all of those welcome signs, there are still reasons to be concerned and certainly not complacent about the current level of infection. First, if case numbers are high, even just 3 per cent ending up in hospital puts pressure on the NHS, and we can see that already. A few weeks ago, there were 171 people with Covid in hospital and 18 in intensive care. Today, that is 506 and 42, respectively. Hopefully, with new cases starting to fall, we will also see hospital admissions fall in the next few weeks. At the moment, the pressure on the NHS is of concern. First and foremost, it means a significant number of people suffering illness. It also means more pressure on a workforce that has already given so much. Of course, it holds back NHS recovery. Every hospital bed occupied by a Covid patient is one less bed available to tackle the backlog of non-Covid care. Another reason to take the current level of infection seriously is the risk of long Covid. Many people, including young people who get the virus but never need hospital care, will still suffer long Covid. It is important to remember that this is a condition that experts still do not yet fully understand, but we do know that it is causing misery for many. Indeed, it is one of the main reasons that, in my view, we cannot be complacent about young people getting the virus. To say that it just does not matter when we do not yet fully understand what the long-term consequences might be for some young people would risk treating them as an experiment, and it would not surprise anybody to hear that I do not think that we should do that. Those are just some of the reasons for continued caution, even as our optimism about the impact of vaccination continues to grow. That sense of caution is reinforced by looking at the international situation and listening to the World Health Organization. Several countries across Europe, for example Portugal and Spain, are now dealing with very sharp rises in cases. Holland has just reintroduced restrictions that were lifted at the end of June. Israel has also seen a significant rise in cases as a result of Delta, despite its very high level of vaccination. Some countries that did well in suppressing the virus last year, for example countries in the Asia and Pacific region, are now seeing cases rise as well. Japan, for example, has decided not to allow spectators at the Olympics. As the Delta variant becomes more dominant in more countries, we are likely to see resurgencies elsewhere, too. There is no doubt that Delta has become, unfortunately, something of a game changer, even for countries on course to achieving full vaccine protection. Covid does remain a threat that we must treat seriously. The Scottish Government understands—I understand the temptation to lift more restrictions more quickly. Of course we understand that, but in our view and in line with clinical advice and modelling, a gradual approach stands the best chance of minimising further health harm and loss of life. Also, because a gradual approach stands the best chance of being a sustainable approach, it will be better in the long term for the economy as well. We will continue to ease restrictions. We are not slamming on the brakes, but we will do so carefully. Let me turn them into the detail of our decisions. From Monday 19 July, all parts of Scotland, not currently there, will move to level 0. However, this move will be made with certain modifications applied consistently across the country to ensure that we are not easing up faster than is sensible given the current situation that we face. Full details of the changes are on our website, but I will highlight some key points just now. In level 0, up to eight people from up to four households can meet indoors at home, compared to six people from three households in levels 1 and 2. Up to 10 people from up to four households can meet in a public indoor space such as a pub or restaurant, and up to 15 people from up to 15 households can meet outdoors, whether in a private garden or public space. Children under 12 already do not count towards the total number of people, and from Monday they will not count towards the total number of households either. In level 0, up to 200 people can attend weddings and funerals. Soft play centres can open, as they could at level 1 but not at level 2. For hospitality businesses at level 0, unlike in level 2, there is no requirement for customers to pre-book a two-hour slot to go to a pub or restaurant. However, customers will still be required to provide contact details to help test and protect, and they will still be required to wear face coverings except when seated. There will still be limits on the size of events and stereo attendancies, but those will increase outdoors to 2,000 seated and 1,000 standing and indoors to 400. As of now, organisers will be able to apply to stage larger events. Let me turn now to the modifications to our indicative plans. Firstly, hospitality venues in level 0 in all parts of Scotland will require to close at midnight. That is a change to what we had previously indicated for level 0 that venues would follow local licensing rules. That reflects the fact that indoor hospitality, despite the sector's sterling efforts, and I want to pay tribute to those, remains a relatively risky environment, particularly later at night, when people might be less likely to follow rules. A midnight closing time represents progress from level 1 and level 2, but it will still help to mitigate some of that additional risk. The second modification is to physical distancing. Let me be clear what I am about to set out applies to public places. We had already removed the requirement to distance for groups of family and friends meeting in private houses and gardens, as long as those are within permitted limits. In indoor public places, as indicated previously, where there is not already a 1m rule in place, the physical distance requirement will reduce from 2m to 1m and will apply between different household groups. The main modification is in relation to outdoor public places. We had hoped to lift physical distancing outdoors completely and, by extension, remove any limit on the numbers that can gather together outdoors. However, for precautionary reasons at this stage, we intend to keep in place a limit on the size of outdoor group gatherings. As indicated earlier, that will be up to 15 people from up to 15 households. Because meeting outdoors is less risky than indoors, there will be no requirement to distance within those groups of 15 if there are different households. However, for the next three weeks at least, there will be a requirement for 1m distancing between different groups of 15. The economy secretary intends to work with the event sector on guidance to explore how events already organised might still go ahead with appropriate modifications. The final and perhaps most substantial modification to what we had indicatively planned relates to working from home. We had indicated that a gradual return to the office could begin from level 0, but, given the current situation, we intend to postpone this until we move beyond level 0, which we still hope will be on 9 August. Until then, we will continue to ask employers to support home working where possible. I know that this will be disappointing for many businesses and, indeed, for some employees who are finding home working hard. However, this will reduce the extent to which people are meeting up in enclosed environments or travelling together, so in this phase, we will help to contain transmission. I hope that the move to level 0, albeit in a modified form, will be welcomed. It is not a complete and wholesale lifting of all restrictions. It was never intended to be. However, it does restore yet more freedom to all of us. Indeed, it is worth emphasising that we are no longer in lockdown, nothing like it. Life is much more normal than at any time since the start of the pandemic. However, the gradual approach that we are taking means that sensible precautions will remain in place to limit transmission while we make even more progress on vaccination. To that end, as I indicated earlier, we will also keep in place certain other measures, such as the requirement to wear face coverings, co-operate with test and protect and comply with advice on good hygiene and ventilation. On the issue of mandating mitigations such as face coverings, it is my view that, if the Government believes measures like this matter and this Government does, we should say so, we should do what is necessary to ensure compliance, and we should be prepared to take any resulting flack from those who disagree. We should not lift important restrictions to make our lives easier and then expect the public to take responsibility for doing the right thing anyway. I have addressed today the move to level 0. We previously indicated that we hoped to move beyond level 0 on 9 August. That remains our expectation. By then, almost everyone over 40 will have had the second dose at least two weeks previously. However, as with today's decisions, we will assess the data before coming to a final decision near the time and I will provide a further update in the week before 9 August. Finally today, I want to confirm our future intentions in relation to the requirement for close contacts of positive cases to self-isolate. We know how onerous and disruptive that is. First, when we move beyond level 0, we intend to remove the blanket requirement for close contacts to self-isolate as long as they are double vaccinated, with at least two weeks having passed since the second dose, and to take a PCR test that comes back negative, and we will publish guidance on the practical operation of this shortly. Second, as part of our wider preparations for the new academic term, we have asked our education advisory group for advice on whether, to what extent and with what mitigations, we can remove the self-isolation requirement for young people in education settings who are close contacts of positive cases and will set out our conclusions well in advance of the new term. We are, of course, still waiting for advice from the JCVI on whether children over 12 should be vaccinated. Lastly, from Monday 19 July, self-isolation will no longer be required for people arriving from countries on the amber list, provided that they are fully vaccinated through a UK vaccination programme and take a PCR test on the second day after arrival. We will continue to take a precautionary approach to the inclusion of countries on the amber list, and notwithstanding that change, we continue to advise against non-essential overseas travel at this time. To avoidance of doubt, let me be clear that anyone testing positive for or experiencing symptoms of Covid will still require to isolate for 10 days. The decisions that I have set out today show that, despite the impact of delta, vaccination is allowing us to continue to ease restrictions, albeit cautiously. That will be a relief to the vast majority, but it will be a source of anxiety to some. Let me address again those at the highest clinical risk, many of whom previously shielded. I know that many of you feel anxious about any easing of restrictions, particularly if you cannot have the vaccine or if you have conditions or are on treatment that suppress your immune system. The Scottish Government is very aware of that. We will not abandon you. For as long as necessary, we will ask people to take sensible precautions such as the wearing of face coverings to allow you, like everyone else, to enjoy more normal life again. We are also launching a survey this week for those on the highest risk list to tell us what additional support you may need, and the chief medical officer will write to you this week with further advice. Lastly, we know that there are around 13,000 people at high clinical risk who have not yet had both doses of the vaccine, so if you are one of them and if you are able to get vaccinated, please do so. That final note of caution explains again the careful balance at the heart of our decisions today. The vaccination programme is working, it definitely is working, and that gives us confidence to ease restrictions further. But case numbers are still high and Covid still poses a risk to the health of many. In the race between the vaccine and the virus, we believe that the vaccine will win, but we cannot allow the virus to run too far ahead, so we must stick to a cautious approach. We are easing restrictions next week, but we are not abandoning them. Even when we move beyond level 0, we will continue to require some baseline measures such as face coverings for a period longer. I will emphasise again what we can all do to protect each other. First, get vaccinated if you are over 18 and have not had a first dose appointment, or if you are eight weeks or more from your second dose, register on the NHS informed website for an appointment or go to a drop-in clinic. Second, please get tested regularly. Lateral flow tests are available free by post through NHS informed or for collection from test sites and local pharmacies. If you test positive through one of those or if you have symptoms, make sure you self-isolate and book a PCR test as quickly as possible. Third, stick to the remaining rules and follow basic hygiene measures. Meet other people outdoors as much as possible. If you are meeting indoors, stick to the limits on group sizes and open windows, the better ventilated a room is, the safer it will be. Remember physical distancing, hand washing, the cleaning of surfaces, face coverings, all of those basic measures are as important now as ever. If we do all of this, frustrating, though it all continues increasingly to be, we will help to protect ourselves and our loved ones. As we continue to complete the vaccination programme, which does offer us the route back to greater normality, we will make it easier for more restrictions to be gradually and sensibly lifted in the weeks ahead. I look forward to questions. Thank you. The First Minister will now take questions on the issues raised in her statement. I intend to allow around 90 minutes for questions, and it would be very helpful if members who wish to ask a question could put R in the chat function now. I call Douglas Ross. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. For the past 16 months, the public has made huge sacrifices. Their lives have been upturned, they have missed out on so many special occasions and moments that they will not get back, yet they have done what is necessary with incredible dedication. Before the pandemic struck, we could have found it unbelievable if a Government had told people to stay inside their own homes for 23 hours a day, restrict how far we could travel, force people to miss the birth of their children and the final moments of a loved one's life. We would have found it equally unbelievable that the overwhelming majority of the public, almost everyone, would follow those restrictions assiduously, putting the good of our country first. People across Scotland and the United Kingdom deserve our utmost thanks and appreciation for everything that they have done. It is now time to move forward. We cannot continue asking the public to sacrifice so much of their lives when we promise them that the vaccine will bring an end to restrictions. Consequences for mental health, physical health and family finances have already been catastrophic. The balance has to tilt further in favour of moving forward. We have to make progress back to normality. The public have done what was expected of them. Now it is time for this Scottish National Party Government to deliver and hold up their end of the bargain. It is welcome that Scotland will move to level 0 next week with some minor modifications and that self-isolation rules for people travelling will be relaxed. However, while the statement provides some of the clarity and answers that we expected, the challenges are still piling up for this SNP Government on multiple fronts. From test and protect standards have dropped. Instead of restoring those high standards, the SNP has lowered the bar and weakened the criteria that reports this week have uncovered. On the vaccine roll-out, which has happened at a phenomenal pace across the whole of the United Kingdom and allowed us to safely ease restrictions at faster pace, progress here in Scotland has now slowed. Today's figures are the worst in three months. On NHS readiness, we have multiple on breaking point declaring code black status. On long Covid, an illness that has the potential to overwhelm our NHS if it is not tackled seriously, SNP Government has been slow to act and are refusing to consider our proposals for a network of long Covid clinics. Parents are still anxiously waiting to hear if their children will need to self-isolate after a year of disrupted learning. Will she listen to our request for additional resources to boost test and protect and return it to the same standards as before? Now that the vaccine roll-out is at its lowest level in months, what has been done to increase that pace? By what date will the Education and Advisory Group publish their findings to allow parents, pupils and teachers to know for sure if self-isolation rules will continue in schools? Will the First Minister finally agree to launch a network of long Covid clinics as we proposed? To be absolutely clear, will the First Minister tell the country that, if it takes until the middle of September to double vaccinate all adults, will that have an impact on the plan to ease almost all restrictions on 9 August? Firstly, I will never find the words adequate to express my gratitude to people across the country, but I hope that everybody knows that I feel that sense of gratitude for the sacrifices that everybody has made and continues to make. Secondly, we are moving forward, thanks to those sacrifices and the power of vaccination, but this is a critically important point. We are choosing to do this at a responsible pace, not an irresponsible pace, because the price of irresponsibility in the face of a pandemic of an infectious and dangerous virus will be more people becoming seriously acutely ill, more people suffering the impacts of long Covid, more people dying and more damage to our economy and society in the longer term. A gradual, steady, careful, cautious path forward is the right one and one that I am absolutely prepared to defend. On the specific questions, test and protect is always going to be under pressure when cases are rising. We are making additional resources available as appropriate. Additional staff are being employed to support the test and protect operation and some of the pressure that we have seen in the past week or so, we believe, is abating because of that. Changes are being made as we go through this pandemic to make sure that the approach to contact tracing—just as we are changing the approach to self-isolation—is effective, proportionate and notifies people as quickly as possible. That is the work that test and protect has been doing and will continue to do because it remains a vital part of our protection. Again, I want to thank all those who are working so hard in that system across the country. On vaccine roll-out, I am going to be blunt here. Anybody who is suggesting that there is somehow some issue with a slowing down of the vaccine roll-out that is anything other than associated with perfectly understandable reasons is either deliberately or inadvertently displaying a lack of understanding of the issues behind the vaccination programme. There are two constraining factors on the pace of roll-out—one that has always been there and one that has kicked in as we go into second doses. The first is the volumes of supply. They are kicked into ebb and flow, although they are healthy at the moment and not causing us concern at the moment. However, the second as we go into second doses is the clinically advised gap of eight weeks between the first and second doses. When you have had your first dose, we cannot give you the second dose until eight weeks have passed. If we did a certain number of vaccinations on this day eight weeks ago, that limits the number of vaccinations that we can do today. We are vaccinating as quickly as possible within those constraints. Any look at our vaccination rates relative to England would show that we are all achieving the same performance in that respect. We continue to do everything that we can to make sure that roll-out continues. On hospital pressures, hospitals are under pressure because of the reasons that I have set out. Last week or the week before, we announced significant additional resources to help health boards cope with that. However, the way we reduce pressure on our hospitals is to reduce the impact of Covid, which is another reason for the cautious path that I set out today. There is no logic and no consistency on the one hand, asking us to go faster in easing restrictions and, on the other hand, complaining about pressures on our hospitals, because the latter would be exacerbated by the former. A bit of consistency here would go a long way. On Covid, we will take the steps that are necessary. We have invested heavily in research so that we understand the specialist provision and the greater generalist provision that has to be provided. However, people suffering from long Covid should go and consult their GP, who will then offer them and point them to the proper services. We will continue to develop those services as our knowledge develops as well. Lastly, I apologise if I have missed any of the points of detail, which I am happy to come back to later, on schools. It is right that we consider that properly. There are a number of interrelated issues, self-isolation in schools and other mitigations such as the wearing of face coverings and the use of bubbles in parts of our education system that we have to consider in the round. The decision that will come hopefully soon from the JCVI on vaccinating younger people will have a bearing on that, so we are rightly taking the time to try to get that right. However, as I have said, we will set that out well ahead of the start of the new term, and I hope to have advice from the education expert advisory group, STUN. Lastly, on 9 August, we are on track to meet the vaccine milestone for 9 August. There is nothing that suggests that we will not meet that, but, as is the case today, the Government will have to take a rounded view ahead of 9 August on what is safe, responsible and sensible to do, and that is what we will do. My job right now is not to take easy decisions for the benefit of good headlines, although I am not sure that that would be wise for me for a whole range of other reasons, either. My job is to take the decisions that are best placed to keep this country as safe as possible. I hope that 9 August will see the further lifting of all the major remaining legal restrictions, but that is a decision that I will take not to make my life easier or to generate good headlines. I will take that decision in the interests of the overall country, and I will be prepared to accept any of the flacking criticism for those who disagree with those decisions. That is my job, that is my responsibility. To all those who continue to serve on our front line, there is no doubt that the inconsistent decision making and inconsistent communications over the past few weeks has had a negative impact on the pandemic response. The high rate of cases is a cause of concern, and I am afraid that what the First Minister has presented today is not a clear strategy to cope with the new phase of the pandemic. It is a set of welcome changes on restrictions, many complicated, but big problems still remain. This new phase requires a new approach. After 16 months, we are still not maximising our testing capacity. Despite the best effort of our NHS staff, issues remain with test and protect, and despite adequate supplies, vaccine roll-out has slowed. The role of the First Minister commit to simplifying the communications and ensuring consistent decision making, because that is crucial to maintaining public trust confidence. Will she more proactively work with business to make the best use of our testing capacity? After 16 months, will she fully resource, fix, test and protect once and for all so that we can identify and isolate the virus? Even when we have completed vaccine roll-out, we will still need a functioning tracing system, and after 16 months we have still not got far enough. Will she work now to pandemic-proof our workplaces and our schools? I hear what she says about it being an advance of the start of the school term, but the school term is just four weeks away, so we cannot delay that workplace and schools proofing for the pandemic. Will the Government increase the value and the eligibility of the self-isolation grant so that we can better support families? The First Minister rightly said in her statement that we should listen to the WHO. Will she need to listen to the WHO on vaccine? The vaccine is working, but it is not yet winning the race with the virus. The WHO advice is to administer the second dose of the vaccine after three to four weeks. The manufacturer's advice is to administer the vaccine after three to four weeks, and many countries across the world are administering the second dose of the vaccine after four weeks. We know from the data that the significant protection that we get to the delta variant comes from the second dose of the vaccine. Will the Government now move to a four-week gap between vaccines, as recommended by the WHO, as recommended by manufacturers and as has been led by other countries around the world? Testing, facing, vaccine, financial support, pandemic-proofing, our workplaces and schools—that is the next phase and the new approach that we require as we go forward from this pandemic. With the greatest respect to Anasawa, and I will treat all of the questions with the greatest respect, there were quite a lot of globe sound bites in those questions, not a huge amount of substance, and frankly a little bit of irresponsibility. I will start with the latter first. We take our advice in Scotland on vaccination from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. In the entire lifetime of this Parliament, no devolved Government has gone against the recommendations of the JCVI on vaccination. The JCVI advice is that to maximise the effectiveness of the vaccine and the longevity of the protection of the vaccine, the dosage interval should be eight weeks between the first and the second dose. Now, if I was to stand here and say not to stand the advice from the statutory organisation that advises us on these issues, that I was disregarding that as a politician and doing something else, I am pretty certain that one of the first people in the queue to criticise me would be Anasawa and his colleagues. It would be unthinkable for me to go against the advice of the JCVI. The JCVI is, I understand, looking at this question again. If I was to recommend reducing the dosage interval, there is nobody, or very few people, that would be happier to do that than me, but it is absolutely incumbent on politicians on these very sensitive matters, where one of the most important things is to maintain public confidence in vaccines to follow that clinical advice. I think that any politician asking for us to do differently to that is being, I am sorry to say, irresponsible. If the advice changes, the position of this Government will change, but we will prioritise maintaining confidence in the vaccine. In terms of what I have described as glib soundbites, pandemic proofing, workplaces and schools, of course we want to make places as safe as possible against Covid, but to try to underplay the complexities and the challenges in that does nobody any favours. We need to think carefully, particularly in light of changing and developing understanding of this virus. One of the things that has changed, although some scientists would say this was always known, but one of the things that has certainly become much more apparent in our thinking is the airborne transmission of this virus. We are doing work now on what more we can do around ventilation, particularly in places such as schools, hospitals and key workplaces, but we need again to make sure that we are not stuck in rigid ways of thinking on these things and we are constantly updating and developing that. That takes time and it takes the best clinical advice and we will continue to do that. We will issue guidance for schools well in advance of the new term, but we will do that when we have taken proper advice and come to proper decisions. On testing capacity and vaccine roll-out, I will keep getting asked those questions perfectly, legitimately and I will keep answering them as patiently as I possibly can. There is nobody who needs a test in this country who cannot get one. We have extended routine regular testing to the whole population through lateral flow devices. PCR testing demand is very much demand driven. If you have looked at the figures over the past few weeks, it has been high as case rates have risen, as case rates start to fall again, that demand starts to fall because there are fewer people, thankfully, with symptoms coming forward for testing. The pressure from time to time on the system is firstly through the turnaround times, but they have stood up well under pressure and on contact tracing. I have set out already the work that we are doing to make sure that test and protect in that protect part of the function is operating as we need it to do, and that will continue to be a priority for us. Lastly, on vaccine roll-out, I have already covered that in response to Douglas Ross, vaccine roll-out is not slowing because somehow we are not managing to do the vaccine roll-out properly. The constraining factors in the vaccine roll-out are, as I have set out, supply and the dosing interval. We are vaccinating as quickly as those constraints allow. The vaccination programme is a shining success right now and is offering us the way out of this, and for that reason we will continue to do all that we can to accelerate it, including if the JCVI recommend it shortening the interval between the first and second doses. The Scottish Greens have long supported a cautious approach that prioritises saving lives and preventing illness. We have concerns about reducing restrictions while case numbers are so high and with so many not yet double vaccinated, particularly as it may encourage the emergence of vaccine-resistant variants. The BMA has warned that the UK Government's plans are perilous and irresponsible, and that we do not need to look far to see where that could end up. Just yesterday, the Dutch Prime Minister had to apologise for lifting restrictions too soon as cases surged. We are particularly worried about those who remain vulnerable and for young people who may be asked to return to work or study without being fully vaccinated. The First Minister has said that she does not want to treat young people as an experiment, yet the majority of those in the hospitality sector are young and not fully vaccinated. Does she think that it is too early to restart large indoor events, which will likely be largely staffed by young people and could become super-spreader events? Sorry, Presiding Officer. I was jumping in a bit too quickly there. I thank the First Minister for those questions. I think that all of them are perfectly sensible and legitimate. From day one, we will have faced two extremes in terms of criticism of our approach. Again, it is perfectly understandable that there has always been voices wanting us to go faster than lifting restrictions and voices wanting us to go slower in lifting restrictions. Our job is not always easy and we have not always got the balance right to try to get the best path, the safest path through this. If I am to err, I will always try to err on the side of going more cautiously than too quickly, because the consequences of going more cautiously will not be felt in the same loss of life as the consequences of going too quickly and being irresponsible about it, but that will always be a balance that we have to seek to get right. That applies to the specific question around young people. We are vaccinating over 18s as quickly as possible. As I set out in my statement, I am making really good progress there. All over 18s now have at least their first dose appointment scheduled and we will have the first dose shortly, and then the second dose is eight weeks on from that. That is the key priority. We then need to make sure that in lifting restrictions we are taking account of the fact that younger people will take longer to be fully vaccinated. So, while we are lifting some of the attendance limits around events and stereo attendancies, we are not taking an upper limit off. We are still being cautious about that, and any events organiser wanting to have a bigger event, such as we have seen through the Euros recently, will have to go through a process of application so that all of the mitigations can properly be assessed. Everything that we are doing here is yes about trying to get us back to normal, but doing that in a way that is proportionate, precautionary and is taking account of the fact that those often most exposed to this virus will be those who have the least protection. I am not prepared to shrug my shoulders and say that it does not matter that young people get infected with this virus because we do not yet understand the long-term implications of it. That necessitates, in my view, the cautious path that we are taking, that no doubt some will criticise us for, because it is not me standing up here and crying freedom day anytime soon. I think that trying to declare premature victory against this virus is a fool's paradise, and we should not do it because it will be other people who pay the price for that. I will continue to try to be cautious, responsible and I will not claim to always get it right. I never have done it and I never will, but we will try to do the right things at every step, taking account of the best clinical advice. Willie Rennie, to be followed by Annabelle Ewing. The three core blacks that were issued by our hospitals in last week means that long-awaited operations have been cancelled, GP appointments for also off-farmaces closed, waste not collected and social care impacted too. It is in large part because thousands of key workers are self-isolating, even though they have tested negative. I support the call from the royal colleges for a test and release system so that those people can return to work. Is that being considered? And if so, when could it be in place because the situation is urgent now? Probably for the last time as Liberal Democrat leader, can I ask the First Minister what she's got to say to the thousands of adults with special needs and their families? They have been without services since the pandemic started and are desperate for support and respite. When can they expect full services to return? I take the opportunity to wish Willie Rennie all the best in his retirement—not from parliament, obviously, or from public life, but as leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. I think that 10 years is a good shift that he's put in there and I'm sure we all wish him well. I'll come to the second question first, if I may. What we have confirmed today is very positive in terms of getting services for adults with disabilities back to much greater normality. As I've set out before, it's not been the case that these services have been compulsorily closed, but because of 2m physical distancing, there has been a practical difficulty on the part of operators in opening them up as normal. The move from 2m to 1m physical distancing indoors should pave the way to much greater normality, and I know that that would be welcome and bring much-needed relief to many in that category. In terms of the first question, I should say in passing that when health boards or individual hospitals within health boards are announcing the pausing of elective non-covid treatment, we want that to be for a shorter period of time as possible, so that's not something that is going to happen and then we just accept that for a long period of time. This is something that is kept dynamically under review and we want to minimise that as much as possible. There is a great emphasis right now on trying to get the NHS back to normal and the backlog of non-covid care well underway in being addressed. The best way to do that is to keep Covid pressure to a minimum, and again that comes back to my central point today. We must take a cautious path through this, otherwise we do risk pressure on our NHS setting all of that backwards. I'm happy to be ready for raising the issue of self-isolation of close contacts who work in the health service and social care, and that may apply to other critical parts of society and the economy as well. I didn't mention it specifically for reasons of time in my opening remarks, but I'll address it now. As I said in my opening remarks, we do hope to move, as we go beyond level 0, to a position where we move away from the blanket requirement for close contacts of positive cases to a position where, if somebody is double vaccinated and gets a negative PCR test, they will no longer have to self-isolate, even if they are close contact. Positive cases will still have to self-isolate. We are considering, perhaps ahead of that, whether that kind of system could be introduced for some key groups in our workforce and health and social care to fall within that category. We are discussing that right now with trade unions, among others, and we will listen carefully to views. I am very mindful of the fact that, when I talk about this, as Willie Rennie rightly has, as something that would help to keep key essential services going, people who work in those essential services might hear this differently. They might hear it as us giving less protection to their health and wellbeing. We need to be careful and cautious about this, as we do about everything else. We will update Parliament if we move more quickly in any areas before what I set out today, but it is, in answer to the question, something that is under active consideration. Thank you. Leaders have been granted more time for their questions and responses. We now move on to open questions, and, as ever, I would appreciate succinct questions and responses. I call Annabelle Ewing to be followed by Annie Wells. On the important issue of face coverings and taking into account the UK Government's confusing mixed messaging over the past week, can the First Minister make it absolutely clear for the benefit of my constituents in Cowdenbeath and, indeed, for people across Scotland what the current position is in Scotland as regards the wearing of face coverings and what the position will be going forward? First Minister. Sorry, Presiding Officer. I must remember not to jump into it quickly. The first point that I would make is that I have been clear again today that easing of restrictions must be dependent on the situation with the virus and the situation with vaccination, rather than having a position where there will be lift restrictions regardless of the circumstances and then somehow hope that the public will still behave in a way that keeps the virus under control. I do not think that that is likely to be effective. On face coverings in particular, as I have said already, face coverings will remain mandatory in all the places that are mandatory right now as we move to level 0 next week. As we move beyond level 0, it is highly likely in my judgment that the mandatory wearing of face coverings certainly in some settings will remain the position and will set out any detail in that nearer the time. Wearing of face coverings is something that we are likely to be required to do for a bit longer yet. I think that some people will vehemently disagree with what I am about to say here, but I think that the majority of people would recognise that wearing a face covering, however uncomfortable and annoying it is for all of us, is a small price to pay to protect others. When we wear a face covering, we protect others from the possibility that we might transmit the virus to them. When they wear a face covering, they protect us from that as well. That is true with the wide population, but particularly for people. If you put yourself in the shoes of somebody who is at high clinical risk of this virus and nobody around you in shops suddenly is wearing a face covering or you cannot be sure that people are going to be wearing face coverings, you are going to feel much less confident about going about normal life. I do not want to have a two-tier society where those of us at the lowest clinical risk can do lots more normal stuff, but those at the higher clinical risk feel that they somehow are having to almost shield by default. I think that that would be deeply ethically long. That is why if it takes all of us wearing face coverings for a bit longer to protect everybody, I think that that is a price that the majority of people are willing to pay. It is certainly something that I am prepared to argue for. Figures last week showed that test and protect is failing to meet the World Health Organization's target for 80 per cent of cases to be closed within 72 hours. Following that, it was revealed that the SNP has moved the goalposts by dramatically cutting the test and protect interview script after failing to preemptively recruit more staff in anticipation of a surge in cases. The First Minister has repeatedly mentioned the WHO benchmark and questioned about the system's performance. Those figures must now act as a wake-up call, so how will the Government guarantee that test and protect will operate as effectively as it can without cutting corners? The First Minister is operating effectively, but it is not cutting corners. We do not need a wake-up call, because we have already taken action to make sure that test and protect can perform at the level that people expect. I think that the WHO standard is important. That is why I have talked about it. Last week, test and protect did not meet that standard. We will see the latest figures later this week. I hope to see an improvement, and we will continue to make sure that we are supporting the system to perform in the way that it needs to perform. Some of the changes that have been made to the approach to contact tracing—I am not an expert on the detail of test and trace in England, but as I understand it, and I can be corrected if I am wrong here—some of the changes that we have introduced to make the contact tracing more effective, more use of text messaging, for example, are methods that have been in place and in use in England for a long time under the test and trace system that Annie Wells party oversees. Those are, in some respects, the changes that this would not be appropriate, but where it is about making the system more efficient, more productive so that it gets to more people more quickly, I think that it is important that we do not close our minds to those. Paul MacLennan, to be followed by Jackie Baillie. That is, First Minister, what steps the Scottish Government is undertaking to ensure that it is open with care guidance, issued to care homes in February 2021, that it has access to care home relatives, is being followed, and what support is where those providers to interpret and adopt the guidance fully? The vast majority of care homes now offer indoor visits as open with care guidance recommends. Care homes are being supported to adopt the guidance by local oversight teams, including the care inspectorate. A review of progress with implementing the guidance in June identified where care homes and partners can improve and embed good quality and meaningful contact is the norm. Those focus on care homes improving, maximising and embedding meaningful contact, local system support and monitoring and strengthening awareness and adoption of open with care. From the latest information, we know that 90 per cent of reporting homes support indoor visiting and increased numbers are supporting daily visits and multiple visitors, but we will continue to monitor the situation and work with the sector to ensure that we get as much normality back as possible to that vital relationship and contact between people in care homes and their families and loved ones. Jackie Baillie, to be followed by Rona Mackay. An 81-year-old man tested positive for Covid on 27 June. He was very ill despite being fully vaccinated. He was not contacted by test and protect until 11 July from 14 days later. We will not stop the spread of the virus unless we can begin to act faster. Because only positive cases are being contacted currently, those who self-isolate, because they know that they have been at close contact, cannot claim the self-isolation grant because test and protect have not been in touch with them. It feels like they are being penalised for being responsible. The First Minister has said herself that opening up safely is dependent on a functioning test and protect system. Why then is the Scottish Government in the words of those who work for test and protect, cutting corners and lowering standards, instead of ensuring that there is such capacity in place weeks ago to help to stop the spread of the virus? I simply do not accept that characterisation, although I am not in any way to perform complacent about the issues that test and protect will face as cases are at a high level. Changes to the system—I am always open-minded to the idea that changes that have been made should be reversed if they are not the right changes—are not about cutting corners, but about trying to make a system as effective, efficient, productive and as fast-moving as possible. The greater use of technology is part of that, as is the use of digital online contact spawns, for example, for lower-risk cases, but we will keep all those things under review literally on a day-to-day basis. We have surged capacity to use the phrase that was used with me principally through the national contact tracing centre, and we will continue to do that. Those are important issues, and issues that I and the health secretary, in particular, abreast of every single day. However, let us not lose sight of the central issue. Test and protect is a key line of defence, but it is not our first line of defence. Our first line of defence is all of us continuing to comply with all of the advice and where they are still in place restrictions to limit the spread of the virus. That is how we get the virus under control, make sure that test and protect is then able to do the job that is there to do, and that we do not overwhelm our national health service. Let us focus on this proper, responsible cautious path through this while we resource test and protect in the other parts of our system accordingly. Rona Mackay, to be followed by Sandesh Gulhane. There will be clear differences in the Covid protection measures that will be in different parts of the UK following the 19th of July. What steps can the Scottish Government take to ensure that anyone visiting Scotland after 19th of July is aware of the Covid protection measures that they need to comply with while visiting? It has been an important question since day one of this. There are quite properly and legitimately different rules in place in different parts of the UK. That is what happens when you have democratically accountable Governments taking decisions that they then have to justify to their electorates, but that does mean that there can be confusion about what rules apply in what parts of the UK we have sought through our marketing campaigns, our radio and television advertising campaigns, through the daily briefings that I do not now daily but still do periodically to make sure that we are communicating as clearly as possible in a very complex situation what the rules in place in Scotland are. We will continue to do that at each phase of the pandemic. I would say again that anybody who wants to check the detail of the rules can do that through the Scottish Government website. Sandesh Gulhane, to be followed by Alistair Allan. During your answer to Douglas Ross, you asked patients to see their GPs for long Covid, but let me tell you that this is simply mounting pressure on us and we are not coping with the demands at present. There is nowhere for us to send our patients to have true long Covid and need long Covid care. Just yesterday, I saw two more patients here in GP who are struggling to live because of long Covid and I have nowhere to send them. I have written and published a paper and have detailed how to set up the best long Covid clinic throughout Scotland based on the Hertfordshire model. The research you want to conduct is going to take between one and three years to report back. First Minister, I, my patients—the poor Scottish sufferers of long Covid—cannot wait that long. We are desperate for help. Please, will you agree to set up long Covid clinics here in Scotland? I am very happy to look at the paper that the member has published. When I talk about research, research does take time to conclude. I am not suggesting that nothing happens between now and then, but I am suggesting that as we develop services for long Covid patients, which we need to do, we are doing that on the basis of the best advice and expertise about what services are going to best cater for them. That is something that we are absolutely seized of and need to take forward urgently right now. I am happy to ask the health secretary to engage further on those issues with the member. The final point that I would make is the central contradiction in the member's party position. I am not saying for political reasons, but it is so important to the decision-making that confronts us right now. The member's party is constantly asking me to emulate what is happening south of the border and to lift restrictions more quickly and to lift restrictions in a wholesale manner. Recently this morning, I have read calls for that criticism for some members that we are going to slowly. The reason why we want to take a cautious gradual path through this is so that we do not unnecessarily increase the number of people who end up living with long Covid and therefore exacerbate that misery for them, but that pressure on all levels of our health service. I am in agreement with what the member is saying about the need for urgency about long Covid services. I just find that difficult to align and make consistent with his party's constant call for us to throw caution to the wind and not bother about what that means for the overall rate of infection. The very important physical distancing measures that are put in place on ferries to prevent importation of the virus to island communities have nonetheless brought serious challenges to island life. Ordynary passenger capacity on carlmack ferries is down to around 35 per cent, and it is currently nearly three weeks before a car can be boot on the alwapool to storm away crossing a similar picture on other island routes. What steps can be taken to assess if there are safe measures available that would allow an increase in ferry capacity in order to support the wider social and economic position for other island communities? Those are really important issues, and I want to take the opportunity to recognise the frustration and the pressures that this causes. Not so much for people who want to visit our islands, although that is not unimportant, but particularly for those who live on our islands and rely on ferry transport to get on and off. Carlmack, in common with other modes of transport, is operating a reduced passenger capacity that is in line with physical distancing guidance. Transport Scotland engages regularly with ferry operators on how to balance safety measures and efforts to maximise capacity. I think that the most recent meeting was at the end of last week. Obviously, crew and passenger safety are a key factor in determining the capacity of vessels, but the impact is understood. I know that carlmack has introduced turn-up-and-go spaces and has also put in place a protocol to ensure that islanders who need to travel for short notice reasons can do so, but we will continue to engage closely on that. Vehicle capacity is mostly unaffected by physical distancing, but there are currently particularly high levels of demand for travel to the island, so we are continuing to explore the potential charter of an additional vessel that will provide additional capacity on the Stornoway-Ullipool route, and the transport minister will keep the member and others updated. Pauline McNeill, to be followed by Emma Roddick. The sector still operates under brutal restrictions, with other sectors do not, and had expected the relaxation of dancing outdoors. Ivan McKee confirmed this to me as recently as 7 July in an answer to my question. Five days later, the Government have mutoned on it. Can the First Minister clarify whether dancing outdoors will or will not be allowed, as it would be helpful, at least to know? The wedding sector did plead for the relaxation of dancing indoors from 16 July in order to save countless jobs for musicians and, of course, dancing being a key part of the celebration. Weddings are incredibly well organised and completely track intrusible. Would the First Minister therefore consider that socially distanced dancing would be impossible for Friday 16 July and, if not, a better financial package to save this industry from complete disaster? The changes that I am announcing today have announced that they will come in to force from the Monday 19 July. I know that that is difficult for those who have weddings planned over the coming weekend. We have to take decisions based on all the factors that I have set out today, and we have to do that as proportionately and responsibly as possible. The attendance limit for weddings at level 0 goes up considerably. I will ask the relevant minister to write to Pauline McNeill shortly with all the details of the do's and don'ts that we are advising at weddings to try to get them to operate as normally as possible, but within safe or as safe boundaries as we possibly can. I know how difficult this is, but I cannot emphasise enough what a critical juncture we are at right now in common, increasingly, with other countries across the UK and across Europe. We desperately want to get everybody back to normal, but we will set back our efforts to do that if we cease to be responsible and careful and cautious about it. I will provide more granular detail on all of those points to Pauline McNeill, but I hope that, while I know that many people will disagree with those decisions, I accept that. As I said earlier, my job is to take decisions even if they are unpopular in a situation like this, but at least I hope that people will know that they are being taken with the utmost care and thought behind them. Emma Roddick, to be followed by Liz Smith. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Given blood cancer, UK has advised people with blood cancers, such as leukemia, who were instructed to shield last year, that the vaccine may only be 13 to 20 per cent effective for them. What extra support and guidance will the Scottish Government provide for those in this high-risk group who may be anxious about their safety as we move to level zero? Of course, minister. That is a really important issue, and I want to address the detail of that. While it is the case that immunosuppressive therapies, such as certain cancer treatments, might reduce the effectiveness of the Covid vaccines, it is recommended that all patients with cancer should still consider getting the vaccine, and I would encourage people to do that. For those who are already receiving immunosuppressive treatment, in line with clinical advice, second doses are, in those cases, being brought forward to either three or four weeks after the first dose to try to provide, in those cases, maximum benefit. We have also prioritised the vaccination of adult household members of those with suppressed immune systems to try to minimise the risk to vulnerable individuals. As we unlock society, and we have learned that over the past 16 months, we will inevitably see a rise in Covid cases again. Guidance for those in the shielding list will, as I said earlier, be provided, and we will continue to update that guidance as necessary. The central point that I made earlier on is that nobody is going to be abandoned so that the majority can live freely while a minority, either those with particular health conditions or those receiving particular treatment, have to continue to effectively shield. We will take a balanced approach to ensure the maximum protection for everyone. First Minister, one of the concerns that has been put to me by the aviation and travel sector is that progress to incorporate Scotland into the digital app technology that will be used to check passengers' Covid status has been slow and it is behind other countries progress. Can I ask the First Minister to update Parliament when this app technology will be ready for Scotland to be incorporated? Just to be clear, England and Wales is, as I understand it, using the system that England is using because we have a separate contact tracing app. Scotland, like Northern Ireland, is developing a different digital system. It will operate in the same way. That is being developed now. I do not have a date for when that will be available, but later in the summer, I hope, I will go into the autumn and provide more detail of the precise date as quickly as possible. Until then, of course, it is possible to get a record of your vaccination status through the route that is already in place. We will make sure that the details of how to do that are very visible on our website and other platforms, so that people have an understanding of that. Can I ask the First Minister what more the Scottish Government can do to offer assistance to those businesses in my constituency in Kilmarnock and Urbally, who are still struggling to recover their customers and their markets? Obviously, we have made available so far significant financial assistance for businesses. The total of the business support that we have provided to date is around £3.7 billion. I will not go through all the different strands of support that are available. Members are aware of that. We will continue to consider what more we can do to help businesses, particularly those in the relatively small sectors of the economy that are still under significant restrictions. For much of the economy, many businesses are operating, at least in theory, almost normally, if not exactly normally. For some businesses, the continuing constraint on their trade will be whether or not people feel confident to use their businesses, to go to pubs and restaurants, to go shopping as normal. That, again, is another reason for the cautious path that we are taking. If we were to build confidence, I could lift all restrictions tomorrow. I am not going to, because I think that it would be a full-hardy thing to do. Even if I did that, that is not going to recover a businesses custom. If people do not feel safe with that to go shopping or to do all the things that they would normally do, we need to get the virus under control. We need to continue the progress of the vaccination programme and we need to build the confidence in people to go back to their normal lives, as well as lift the restrictions that enable them to do so. Michael Marra to be followed by Christine Grahame Presiding Officer, young Scots who are 18 years old and starting university for the first time would need to be receiving their first jag this week to be fully immunised in time for the new term. These are the very young people whose last school years have been decimated. Can the First Minister take specific action to get these 9,000 young Scots vaccinated and off to university for the start of the rest of their lives? The action is under way. All over 18-year-olds have received an appointment. All over 18-year-olds will be getting access to a first dose of the vaccine in the coming days by that mid-July target date that we had previously indicated, which is an acceleration of the end of the July date that we originally thought. What we need to do is make sure that the uptake of those opportunities is as high as possible, which is the reason for dropping clinics in Glasgow and Edinburgh, vaccination buses and other efforts that we are exploring to try to get vaccine to young people as quickly as possible. There are issues, and one slater raised this with me in a party leader's call that I had yesterday in terms of the return to university, that there might be some 18-year-olds, as Michael Marra rightly says, who have not got full protection by the time they are going back to university, but more significantly, some 17-year-olds who, as of now, are not vaccinating and may or may not start to vaccinate, depending on the JCVI advice. We will consider particularly guidance to them to help them feel safe and assured as they start to return to university, even though they might not have the full protection of the vaccine that older peers have. There are some really important issues in all of this. We have talked about the work that we are doing to prepare for the return of the academic school term. Similarly, we need to prepare properly for the return of the university and college term. I know that the education secretary will seek to engage more with members on all of those issues. I call Christine Grahame to be followed by Liam Kerr. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. First Minister, I very much welcome the wearing of face coverings remaining mandatory for as long as it takes and continuation in certain venues of social distancing. Thank goodness. Further to Rona Mackay's question of your answer, will the First Minister consider placing information on electronic road signs at the border with England to remind our neighbours of the different rules here? With respect, not everyone is going to log on to the Scottish Government's website. I am sure that Christine Grahame is underestimating the power and pull of the Scottish Government website, or then again maybe not. That is a very good suggestion. I cannot be sure that we do not already, because I certainly know that I have seen on the overhead gantries on other motorways that you are in level 2, make sure that you are compliant with the guidance, but we will look at whether there is more scope to do that, particularly at critical junctures, where at the moment it will be people coming into Scotland from England, but at previous time, of course, when different parts of Scotland were in different levels, that would have been equally true for people travelling within Scotland, so we will certainly look at that helpful suggestion. I call Liam Kerr to be followed by Bob Dorris. I think that we will move to Mr Dorris if we can call Bob Dorris. Thank you, Presiding Officer. The Scottish Government has said in June that the level of protection offered by double vaccination for those at clinically higher risk, putting those with weaker immune systems was not yet conclusive for some groups, and studies are on-going. My constituents are understandably anxious that restrictions ease and infection rates remain high. Can I ask the First Minister for an update on those studies and what additional advice and support can be offered to such groups, including concerns for instance they may have over returning to work or using public transport? I know people who are clinically extremely vulnerable are concerned right now, and I do not imagine for a second that anything that I have said today will take away all those concerns, because those are real life concerns. However, I hope that I have given a very strong message that we will not abandon people in that category for the sake of the rest of us getting back to normality and being able to throw away our face coverings, for example. We are all experiencing this differently, but it is still the case that we are all in this together and we have to come through it together. Those who are clinically extremely vulnerable, including those who are immunocompromised—I touched on that earlier on—were prioritised for vaccination. The JCVI also advised households of adults who are severely immunosuppressed should be vaccinated. Interim JCVI advice recommends that any booster programme should begin in September to maximise protection in those who are most vulnerable, and it is recommended that those with immunosuppression are vaccinated in stage 1 of the programme. There is a whole variety of things that we need to do to build the confidence of people clinically extremely vulnerable or immunosuppressed that they also can get back a normal way of living in the way that the rest of us hope to do. I call Sarah Boyack. The question is on the NHS in terms of capacity for planned operations and the rise in NHS delayed discharge levels. What additional care packages are being put in place so that people are supported and enabled to leave hospital, and are all patients automatically now being tested for Covid before being discharged? The testing position on discharge has not changed recently, so the situation remains as it has been. Work continues to ensure that there are appropriate care packages in place to minimise delayed discharge from hospital. I also think that it is important that we are properly supporting people who are waiting longer for treatment right now because of the backlog. There is a lot of work under way to deal with the consequences of the pressure on the health service but also reduce that pressure and recover as quickly as possible. I will ask the health secretary to write to Sarah Boyack with more detail on all of those issues. I call Emma Harper. Similar to Rona Mackay and Christine Grahame, I agree that this is a really important issue. I would like to ask the First Minister if the Scottish Government has assessed whether the divergence of Covid-19 restrictions in England on approaching the dangerously named freedom day on July 14 will create confusion over the Scottish Covid-19 rules and therefore barriers to their enforcement. Can the First Minister reaffirm that action will be taken to ensure that people in Scotland and those visiting from other parts of the UK, including to my South Scotland region, are aware of Scotland's more responsible approach to easing Covid-19 restrictions? My job and the job of the Scottish Government is to make sure that people understand and, as far as possible, comply with the restrictions, rules, advice and guidance that are in place in Scotland. That has been the case since day 1 and we will continue to take that very seriously. I will defend the right of different Governments to introduce rules as they see fit. I will not always agree with the actions of other Governments but I defend the right to do what they think is right and to defend my right to do likewise. We have to manage any potential for confusion that arises and we will continue to do that. We are all across the UK in a challenging position at the moment, really hopeful because of vaccination but challenged again because of Delta. Scotland has been at the leading edge of that in the past few weeks, having, for the first two weeks, been slightly behind and below the UK curve. In this one, we have been above and ahead of it, principally because of the early seeding of Delta into Glasgow. We are starting to see an improvement in that position in Scotland. Ten days ago, of the 10 hotspots to use the shorthand language local authorities in the UK, five of them were in Scotland. As of today, I think that only one of them are in Scotland. That indicates the improving position in Scotland but that position will only continue to improve if people continue to comply with all the guidance and restrictions that are being set out. It is really important that people in Scotland are helped to understand what they are and that we deal directly with any potential for confusion that arises. I thank everyone who has been doing a sterling effort during the pandemic. Out-of-hours GP services have been particularly affected as workload pressures within in-hours general practice have impacted on the availability of GPs, the work in out-of-hours, and there are some serious concerns among GPs about the ability of services to cope with demand. With patients attending out-of-hours when they are being asked to wait for an appointment with their normal GP, what immediate additional support can be provided to out-of-hours general practice so that it does not buckle under the strain? Out-of-hours services are a critical part of our primary care provision and, like all aspects of the service, they are under pressure. We are working with health boards to provide appropriate resources and support to help with that pressure at all levels. I will ask the health secretary to write to the member with particular detail on what we are doing to help primary care GP practices and within that out-of-hours services, but there is no doubt that, particularly with the long Covid, as we heard earlier on, the pressure there will be felt not necessarily in our hospitals or in our acute health service but in our primary and community services so that the point is well made and we will continue to provide appropriate support as best we can and I will make sure that further detail is provided. I call Beatrice Wishart to be followed by Siobhan Brown. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Children and young people have been hit hard by the need to repeatedly self-isolate. Many missed whole chunks of their last school year and, when term starts in a month's time, they will need every available teacher, but across Scotland qualified teachers are discovering that they won't have a job come August. No teacher should have to work under a zero-hours contract and no teacher should be left unemployed. Will the First Minister commit to giving teachers the security that they need to do their job by introducing permanent funding or permanent positions for the education recovery? As the member knows, we are providing significant extra funding for councils that is supporting the employment of significant additional numbers of teachers. We will continue to talk to COSLA about our ability to project forward and commit resources forward, which is restricted to some extent, but the fact that much of our funding is dependent on decisions taken elsewhere and therefore we can always commit in advance. We will continue to do what we can to enable local authorities, who are the employers of teachers, to make sure that they are providing permanent employment. We need, and I agree with that point, as many teachers as we can have in our schools right now. We want teachers to have security of employment, so we will continue, and I will ask the education secretary to write in due course to update on what more we can do to support that. Can the Scottish Government give assurances that people that travel overseas from Scotland and have to do self-testing beforehand that the testing kits should be supplied by Scottish suppliers? Travellers returning from green and amberless countries must use NHS tests. Those can be booked through the booking portal for international travel. Those kits are home test PCR kits, provided by the NHS. The cost of the kits is set by the UK Government, and the process managed through a contract debt has with a travel management company, so our ability to reduce costs unilaterally there is limited. Currently, we are not using private test providers for international travellers arriving into Scotland due to concerns about the speed and reliability of the flow of data from private companies. We are having on-going discussions about whether that can be improved, but at the moment we think that the safest thing to do is to rely on NHS tests. I think that I saw the Welsh Government getting criticised for the same thing the other day. I think that it is the right thing to do, but we will continue to keep that under review to make testing for people who need it as accessible as possible. I call Liam Kerr to be followed by Rachel Hamilton. Thank you, Presiding Officer. This morning, I received yet another email from an overseas-based oil and gas worker. He feels trapped and says, I don't think mentally I can go through another 10-day hotel quarantine. First Minister, oil and gas workers are subject to the most rigorous Covid testing. They have often been double jabbed and often have not left the installation, yet they are forced to spend 10 days and three quarters of their wages in a hotel. To give absolute clarity, will the changes announced today now let our energy workers isolate at home or keep them isolated while they keep our lights on? The changes that I have announced today—assuming that we move to beyond level 0 in August—will apply from them. As I said, we are definitely considering whether there can be an earlier move to this system for particular groups of critical workers, so that is under review. However, let me just say again for clarity that only those returning to Scotland after being in a red-list country in the previous 10 days require to enter managed isolation. If somebody is coming from an amber-list country, they must self-isolate at home instead, and that applies to offshore workers as well. We need to continue to take proportionate action that helps to keep the country as safe as possible from new variants. We are currently dealing with the implications of a new, very fast-transmitting variant seeding into this country, and I think that that underlines why I understand all those frustrations, but we must take care to do everything that we can to prevent that from happening again. In Scotland, 200,000 planned operations have been cancelled or delayed as a result of the pandemic, and some patients lie waiting in agony for vital treatments and procedures. First Minister, you will be aware that the Scottish Government has repeatedly called for a fund managed by a dedicated team of clinicians to allow the NHS to bring treatment times under control. Will her Government commit to such a clinician-led fund and, furthermore, with reference to her statement on removing the blanket requirement for close contacts to self-isolate, when will the guidance be published and will the NHS workers be prioritised to help to relieve the increasing strain on our hospitals? We provide significant funding to help to deal with elective pressures in our NHS and get the NHS back to working normally and dealing with the backlog, so that funding has already been provided and we will continue to support the NHS through financial means and other means as well. There is just a glaring in consistency at the heart of almost every question that I am getting from the Conservative benches. They are always asking me to go further, faster, ease all restrictions, lift all restrictions and, at the same time, raise legitimate questions about what will be exacerbated implications of doing so. The way to deal with pressure in our health service right now is to reduce Covid infections, which is why we must take a careful path through this. If we were to follow the advice of the Conservatives right now, I really feared that we would see an even steeper rise of infections in the weeks to come. That would hold back and set back our ability to deal with waiting times and the backlog of treatment. It makes perfect sense for members—for Rachel Hamilton included—to keep putting pressure on us to get the backlog under control more quickly. I will always listen to suggestions on that, but any credibility in that argument holds below the waterline if it is coming from the same people who are asking us to throw all caution to the wind and remove all Covid restrictions. On the point about self-isolation for NHS workers, I have addressed this already. It is under consideration, but I would ask Rachel Hamilton, as I ask that—forgive me, I cannot remember who asked me about it—Willy Rennie asked me about it previously. When we talk about reducing self-isolation requirements for health workers to help to keep the health service operating, that is perfectly legitimate. However, if you are a health worker and you hear me talking about what might sound like reducing the protection against Covid that you will have, you might hear that differently. We have to deal with those things carefully and recognise that this is people's health lives that we are talking about. To treat those issues seriously, that is what we are doing. It is an important issue. The Covid-related absence in the NHS right now is about 1.6 per cent. Some of that will be down to self-isolation, so it is an important issue, but it is important that we discuss how we deal with it with healthcare workers. John Mason, to be followed by Pam Duncan-Glancy. Thank you. There has been a lot of discussion about the need for a third jag or a booster sometime in the autumn. Yet, at the same time, many people in developing countries have not yet had access to any vaccine whatsoever. Can the First Minister say how do we get the balance right between protecting our own population and caring for the rest of the world? That is going to be an on-going challenge. That balance will have to be found. What is absolutely true is that we will not be out of the pandemic until the whole world is out of it, and that means getting vaccination to everybody across the planet as quickly as possible. For every Government, your first responsibility as your contribution to that is to vaccinate your own population effectively and then to play as much of a role in the efforts to extend vaccination across the globe as you can. We stand ready to do everything that we can in that. We have got to follow advice about booster vaccination. It would make no sense to do what we are doing with this vaccination programme and then to allow the protection of it to wane if boosters can elongate that, but we also need to make sure that we are supporting other countries. After we reviewed our approach to international development once the pandemic struck, we designated a portion of our international development fund specifically to support our partner countries' Covid responses. That support is helping to prepare healthcare systems in Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda for the distribution of vaccines. We are playing our part and we will continue to do so. Presiding Officer, a year of little or no engagement with them, lots of disabled people and unpaid carers are understandably scared about what is next because of their underlying condition. So much so, last week they wrote to the Scottish Government to raise serious concerns about the Government's approach to the next stage of the pandemic. With that in mind, can the First Minister clarify whether an equality's impact assessment was carried out before the publication of Scotland's Covid-19 strategic framework? I will provide the detail and writing about the impact assessments and the process. We have to go through various, what we call, four harms processes before we publish any of those strategic updates. I will provide the detail and writing because it is important. I hope that people—I think that this is one of the most important things in terms of where we are with dealing with the virus right now. The letter that Pam Duncan-Glancy refers to has a material impact on my decisions today because I think that it would be unconscionable to take an approach to this virus that effectively abandons those who are at most risk, either because of their conditions or the treatment they are on and are most vulnerable to getting this virus. Of course, those categories will not even be able to be vaccinated. That is one of the reasons why we need to be cautious and not simply lift all restrictions as much as the rest of us with our double dose vaccines might think would be appropriate for us. For me, if I have to wear a mask for longer, if I have to distance from other people for a bit longer, if I have to do other things for a bit longer to help somebody with a disability, have the same return to normality as I want, I am prepared to do that. I think that that will be the position of the vast majority of people across the country. I know that there are concerns. We will carry on trying to address those concerns piece by piece as we go through this. I hope that the message that I have tried hard to convey today is that nobody with a disability or with a suppressed immune system or with greater clinical vulnerability to this virus is going to be abandoned for the sake of getting the country overall back to a greater degree of normality. I cannot be more serious about our determination to make sure that that is not the case. What steps have been taken to build public confidence in the increasingly important triage role performed by the GP reception staff and to promote consistent standards across GP surgeries? There is a lot of work that has been on-going pre-pandemic in primary care to raise understanding and awareness and confidence in the different roles that make up primary care. Traditionally, when we talk about primary care, we think about a GP and reality that there is a wide range of people who make up our primary care system. We will continue to do that as Stephanie Callaghan is no doubt aware. There has been work on going to promote the need for people for their own benefit to go to the best place when they need healthcare and not to always default to accident and emergency and confidence in triaging in GP services and in our primary care services. Overall, that is an important part of that. I again will ask the health secretary to write Stephanie Callaghan with more of the detail of exactly what work is under way. Donald Cameron, to be followed by Gordon MacDonald. Until today, Regmore hospital in Inverness has been at code black status and has cancelled all non-electro surgery part because of the high numbers of staff being required to self-isolate because of contact with Covid cases. I have listened carefully to the First Minister's answers on what will now happen regarding self-isolation for health workers. Can she outline what other measures are being explored to ensure that staffing levels in the health service do not continue to deteriorate? We have a range of wellbeing support services for staff in our health service. Staff in our health service have gone way above and beyond the call of duty over the past 16 months. They always do, but particularly during the course of the pandemic. It is one of the reasons why we took the decision to give them the best single-year pay rise in the lifetime of this Parliament, 4 per cent, compared with the 1 per cent that Mr Cameron's colleagues south of the border are offering to the NHS as a way of recognising the debt of gratitude that we owe to them. We have also, and this is symbolic, and I would not claim it any more than that, but we have done it when other Governments across the UK have not paid the £500 bonus. Again, I come back to the central contradiction at the heart of the Conservative arguments here. The most important thing that we can do to support the NHS right now is to get Covid cases lower than they are right now and to take a cautious path through this, which is why calls that are repeatedly made by the Conservatives to throw caution to the wind and lift all restrictions are so utterly wrong-headed and run counter to the absolutely legitimate concerns that they are raising about pressure on our NHS. Again, the calls that they are making, while I take them seriously anyway, will sound more serious if they are backed up by support for the sensible path that we are seeking to take through this pandemic. Gordon MacDonald to be followed by Foysal Childry Long Covid has impacted around 80,000 people in Scotland and over a million people in the UK. That is a condition that can cause debilitating respiratory, cardiological and neurological symptoms. What consideration does the Scottish Government give to the risks of long Covid, especially its potential impact on the young, when it is reaching a decision about lifting of restrictions? Has been a central part of our decision making in advance of today. Increasingly, we hear a line of argument. I understand the sentiments that drive that. Because Covid is now mainly, not exclusively, but much more than was the case before, affecting younger people, and younger people are far less likely to end up in hospital or to be seriously ill or die, then we should not bother about case numbers. Because the link between cases and serious acute illnesses weakened, we are not as driven only by case numbers as was the case previously. Long Covid is one of the reasons why we cannot simply be unbothered—if that is the correct word or a word at all—about the level of cases. We do not yet know the impact that Covid is going to have long term on some young people. Many people will have seen BBC Scotland's Lucy Adams report yesterday of our experience with long Covid. It is horrific when you think about and listen to what that has done to people. We must be cautious because every infection now could be a long Covid case in the future, misery for the individual and huge pressure on our NHS for how long we do not yet know. It is another reason for care and caution, although it is frustrating for many of us to continue to take a very gradual route through that. Of course, as others have said, rightly so, we must continue to develop, understand and build the services that are going to be needed to deal with the implications of long Covid. Thank you very much. As we have learned about the virus, the importance of good ventilation has been repeatedly emphasised. What work has been done in preparation of further restrictions is to improve ventilation in public buildings and workplaces. Will the Government consider regulating and inspecting ventilation standards, as far as an example is being done in schools in New York City, or will it consider imposing requirements for carbon dioxide levels as a measure of air quality to be publicly displayed in venues, including hospitality, as recently decided by the British Government? That is an excellent question. The environmental mitigations that we can bring to bear against Covid are one of the most important things that we have to think about. The short answer is yes. I have asked for some work to be done to look at how we much more radically improve ventilation in public buildings but also make much more use of, for example, carbon dioxide monitors that are being used as a proxy measure for air quality that gives a certain level of assurance about whether a particular environment has the ventilation that is required to deal with Covid. There are also issues that healthcare workers will raise as we understand more about the airborne nature of transmission and whether we continue to look at and develop approaches to appropriate PPE. The issues of ventilation and the implications of airborne transmission are increasingly a key part of our decision making. I will keep Parliament updated on our work on ventilation, but it is of all the many good questions that I have been asked today. It is possibly one of the most important in terms of how we, for what everybody wants to do, will learn to live with this longer term. One of my constituents has recently been a participant in clinical trials of the Novavax vaccine. However, as the vaccine has not yet been approved, participants are now uncertain about obtaining a vaccine certificate and unsure about the way forward in terms of their own protection from Covid-19. Given the uncertainty that they are now currently facing, can the First Minister provide an assurance that the Scottish Government will do all it can to ensure that clarity is provided to trial participants on both their vaccine certificates and their protection against Covid-19? The First Minister is a really important issue, and I am happy to give that assurance in general terms. I will give just a little bit more detail. First, can I say how grateful I am to everybody who has volunteered for vaccine trials in Scotland? Every single person has made a tremendous contribution to helping us to tackle the pandemic and offering us the way out of it through vaccination. Volunteers who have participated in the Novavax trials are determined to ensure that they are not disadvantaged in any way, and work is on-going to ensure that their vaccine status is correctly shown on NHS systems so that that can be relied on. We are working to support the opening of travel when it is safe to do so and with other UK nations and the WHO to agree on any potential future Covid certification requirements for international travel. As yet, and we have touched before on the ethical considerations that we have to bear in mind, we have no plans to make vaccine certification a requirement of access to services more generally. It is important that we think through all of those issues properly, but I will give the assurance that we will continue to do everything that we can to make sure that those who have participated in the Novavax trials are not disadvantaged in the future. Alexander Burnett, to be followed by Eleanor Whitham. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Third, to my colleague Liam Kerr's question on the impact of quarantine in oil and gas workers, a fully vaccinated constituent of mine has returned from Qatar, which is a red-list country. However, it has been forced to quarantine, which we understand, in a hotel that has clearly not been de-cleaned and is concerned at the risk of contracting Covid. So, I will spare sharing with the First Minister the photos that I was shown of a disgusting state that this hotel room and toilet facilities were in. However, can I ask the First Minister what measures are being taken to ensure that such facilities are being de-cleaned and what discussions, as the First Minister, had with the hotel industry to set an acceptable standard? First Minister. That is again an important issue. I would be grateful for details of that particular case to be shared with me. The hotel quarantine contract is one that is overseen and managed by the UK Government. If I get those details, I will pass them on to make sure that those concerns are taken seriously. Of course, the Scottish Government will do everything that we can to ensure that there is not just an acceptable standard in hotels that are being used for this purpose, but a standard that is as high as we would expect. Eleanor Whitham, to be followed by Paul O'Kane. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Even with a move to level 0, some businesses' restrictions will still remain in place. It is essential that businesses that are impacted by restrictions continue to be provided with support that they require. It is of some concern that the UK Government continues to press ahead with plans to scale back the furlough scheme in the months ahead. Can the First Minister provide an update as to the Scottish Government's latest engagements with the UK Government regarding the plan changes to the furlough scheme? Will she continue to press for business support to continue to be made available for as long as restrictions are required? That is a vital part of how we support businesses for as long as any business requires to work under restrictions. We make regular, constant, frequent representations to the UK Government publicly and privately about the continuation of furlough. They appear adamant to bring furlough to an end, which is of serious concern. One of the concerns, not the only concern, about divergence in the level of restrictions in place between England and the other UK nations is whether the lifting of all restrictions in England then leads to the lifting of all support for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, which all three of us are choosing to go at a slower pace. It is one thing for the UK Government to say that they respect the right of the Scottish Welsh and Northern Ireland Governments to take their own decisions, but if they hold the cards in terms of financial support and do not provide the financial support that is appropriate to the decisions that we take, they undermine our ability to fight the virus. It is really important, particularly over this next period, that they listen and that they provide furlough in each of the nations for as long as it is required in line with the decisions that each of the nations are taking. We have several questions that I would be very pleased if we could get through, so I would ask for succinct questions and responses. I call Paul O'Cain to be followed by Jackie Dunbar. On 2 July, STV News covered the story of Brian, who works in testing protect. He described his working environment as toxic and said that staff are being overwhelmed by the demands of increasing infection rates, and morale is at an all-time low. I have also met testing protect staff this week, who have told me that, at the start of their work, they felt pride as key workers, but now they feel nothing but stress. Test and protect has stretched to breaking point, and staff need better support. Will the First Minister agree to support these staff through additional resources? Crucially, what can the Government do to support the mental health and wellbeing of those key workers? We are supporting and will continue to support staff who work in testing protect. It is a stressful job when case numbers are high, and I do not want to in any way minimise the level of stress and the impact on morale of the workforce in testing protect when case numbers have been as high and rising as they have been in recent weeks. My gratitude to them is very real. The health secretary engages with testing protect. I will ask him again to consider the points that have been made to see what more we can do to provide support for those working at that input. That is a front-line service right now. I mentioned earlier on the wellbeing support that is available for NHS staff more widely. We will make sure that that is considered in the light of the pressure on testing protect as well. The most important thing is that all of us—the Government has particular responsibilities to testing protect, but all of us as citizens—the most important thing that we can do to support all of our front-line workers right now is to continue to behave in a way that gets the virus levels down. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Now that health services are resuming, how can we ensure that those who have been shielded have the confidence to attend their appointments and that they are receiving the appropriate advice before attending? I mentioned earlier on that the chief medical officer will write to those in the high-risk list soon to provide more advice about the move to level 0 and what that means and what that means in particular for people who have been shielding. The main part of my answer is more general. We all have a role to play here in making sure that, as we go back to normal, those who are at the highest clinical risk from this virus feel confident to go for medical appointments, to go to the shops, to go to the places that the rest of us want to go. That does mean—and I think will mean—that the rest of us are being prepared to comply with some baseline mitigations, light-faced coverings for a bit longer than we might want to provide that sense of assurance. We have come through lots of different phases of the pandemic and at points—this is another one of those points, I think—where there is a collective endeavour. Even though, as individuals, we might be really frustrated with certain restrictions, we are doing it not so much for ourselves but we are doing it for each other. I think that the sense of solidarity and collective endeavour on the part of those who are most clinically vulnerable is needed now perhaps more than ever. Jake Hoy to be followed by Stuart McMillan. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Speaking after the national records of Scotland was forced to release data on Covid deaths in care homes, the First Minister said that the agency operates in these kinds of decisions independently of ministers. Last week, we found out that former cabinet secretary Fiona Hislop intervened with NRS in February to delay the release of the same data until after the election. That meant that families of care home residents who tragically died were left in the dark for months longer than should have been the case. Does the First Minister stick by her claim that no political pressure was applied to the NRS over the release of that data? Or did she, as she has previously put it, take her eye off the ball again? First Minister, I do stand behind that. The release of information like that and the timing of the release is a matter for the national records of Scotland. They do not operate under political pressure and I do not accept the characterisation of what happened that Craig Hoy has just given. The cabinet secretary at the time was taking steps to ensure that the correct engagement was happening before the release of information with the care home sector in order that it did not come as a surprise to, for example, bereaved families so that there was, in line with guidance, proper engagement. However, the timing of the release and the fact of the release was one for NRS. Stuart McMillan, to be followed by Patrick Harvie. In response to Paul McLean earlier, the First Minister indicated the review and the work with the care sector around the open for care document. With 90 per cent of the care sector following the open for care proposal, what assurances can the First Minister provide? I do not require constituents who have contacted me about those care homes where in the 10 per cent category and are still restricting the numbers of visits residents can receive that those care homes will be supported to ensure that they improve visitation. First Minister, we will continue to engage with the care home sector and where necessary with individual care homes about how more older people can have access to the contact and activities that are so important to their wellbeing. I am very happy to ask the health secretary to look at particular cases where care homes are not offering that. I am sure that in cases where that is the case it will be for good reason, but we will continue that engagement. We want people to have as normal engagement with their loved ones and as normal access to activities as is possible. The First Minister once again tells us that she is advising against non-essential overseas travel, but the problem is not just that no differentiated approach is being taken in terms of what overseas travel is allowed. By now removing the requirement for isolation in relation to overseas travel, the First Minister is also not only running a direct risk in terms of transmissions but is also likely to be inducing additional demand for the very overseas travel that she is advising against. Given that vaccination does not block all transmission and does not block all serious illness, is it not clear that this approach is going to run an additional risk of continued high case numbers, while our domestic tourism industry would love to see the benefit of more people taking their holidays at home? Why are we taking a more coherent approach to international travel? First Minister, our domestic tourism industry has had a torrid time over the course of the pandemic, but in more positive news our tourist industry is seeing healthy demand over the summer months and that is encouraging. I encourage people who want to take a break and are able to take a break to do that at home in Scotland and support the tourist industry and local businesses the length and breadth of the country. Every decision that I take, some people will say that I am going too far and some people will say that I am not going far enough and that is all fine because I am the one with my colleagues that have to come to the balance judgments. We need to have systems in place for essential travel. People who are separated from families will, in some circumstances, see contact with families as essential travel. We need to have systems in place that allow that to happen as safely as possible in as proportionate a way as possible. That is what the risk-categorised red amber green system is intended to do. We take a precautionary approach to the categorisation of countries and will move countries back up the scale as and when we consider necessary. Vaccination with PCR tests, second day after arrival, is deemed to be nothing is absolutely safe in this context but is deemed to be a proportionate alternative to self-isolation in the case of people who are double vaccinated, which helps to strike a balance. It is not a perfect balance and we will continue to keep it under review. In the meantime, my advice to people is that if you do not have to go overseas right now, do not go because you do not know what the situation might be when you are there. There is again a volatile situation overseas in Europe and in some other parts of the world. We have seen just in the last couple of days Netherlands, for example, restrictions that were lifted at the end of June being re-imposed. You might look a trip there and think that you are going to a restriction free country and suddenly you are not. It is uncertain in your destination but it is also uncertain in terms of what you might inadvertently and unwittingly bring back with you. I will try and we will continue to try to get the right balance with the right level of proportionality that we can. The one thing that I am certain of is that it will not keep everybody happy but that is in the nature of those things. As restrictions lift, the likelihood of people having contact with someone who has been asked to self-isolate will obviously increase and Paul O'Kane has already alluded to some capacity issues in the test and protect in his area. Can the First Minister give more detail on the preparations that have been made to ensure that test and protect is able to cope with this projected increase in demand? I would hope that we would see the demand on test and protect reduce over the next coming weeks, as case numbers have plateaued and started to fall, so too should the pressure on test and protect. There is a direct relationship between the levels of infection and the level of pressure on test and protect. The most important thing that we can do to reduce that pressure is to get case numbers down and, thankfully, it looks as if that is the trend that we are on right now. In summary, we have increased resources in staffing in test and protect through the natural contact tracing centre and also supported test and protect to make appropriate modifications to their approach to contact tracing. If that has not already been done, I will ask the health secretary to put in spice a full explanation of exactly the measures that we have taken to support test and protect and what we will do in the future should case numbers start to rise again, which I hope will not happen. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Following comments from the national clinical director, Aberdeen Football Club, we are hoping to safely welcome 8,000 fans to Padre when the premiership season kicks off, yet the First Minister has just set a limit on 2,000 irrespective of the size of the outdoor venue. Will the First Minister take into account the size of the football stadium when setting future limits and will sports clubs be able to apply to routinely stage larger events? There is a standard limit that venues can operate in without permission. There is a process to apply to do larger events, which then takes account of whether the right mitigations can be in place to make a larger event as safe as possible. Of course, one of the things that will be taken into account is the size of the venue or stadium in place. All of this is really difficult for people who want to go and watch their football team. It is really difficult for people who want to go to see other things and pursue other leisure events, but we have to do this safely and we have to do this appropriately. There are countries across Europe that are stopping again—I think that the Netherlands is in this category, unless I am remembering that wrongly—all large-scale events. We do not want to get to that position, but we are more likely to get to that position if we take the brakes off too quickly and allow the situation to spiral out of control. I call Jim Fairlie to be followed by Edward Mountain. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am sure that we all appreciate the scale of the data management task involved with the vaccination roll-out. While we give credit and praise to the NHS and everybody else in our public servers, I think that this is another group of people that we really need to take our hats off to because the job must have been phenomenal. I am certain that the First Minister will recognise as I do myself the frustration felt when things were wrong. There can be line-to-queues on the helpline, there can be delays in tracing records and then getting them delivered. In some cases, in some circumstances, that can simply be too late. Will the First Minister examine what more can be done to both minimise the errors and fast-track the correction of vaccine records for constituents with urgent cases? I will ask relevant officials what more can be done, what steps can be taken to make sure that the system that is in place right now is operating as smoothly as possible. The paper-based system in place provides people with a record of the vaccination status that they need for international travel. The last time that I looked at this, which I think was earlier today or yesterday, the average time for providing that was around three days. Obviously, in some cases it might be longer, but we will continue to work to reduce that as much as possible. Of course, as I indicated in response to an earlier question, we are currently working to put in place a digital Covid status certificate system that will include not just vaccination but testing data. That takes time to implement, but that is work that is currently under way. We have four members remaining who wish to ask questions of the First Minister, and I am minded to take those questions. I call Edward Mountain to be followed by Bill Kidd. Thank you, Presiding Officer. What work has the Scottish Government undertaken with health boards to reduce the pressure on our centralised hospital and the excessive and unacceptable waiting times by fully utilising our community hospitals, some of which have recently been moth-board, to help in the treatment and care of elective surgery cases? We work with health boards on an on-going basis to support them in dealing with the variety of demands on their services. We look to use all appropriate facilities and services. As you know, the health secretary is currently working through the NHS recovery plan, which looks at how we will recover the position in terms of electives, and that will mean building elective capacity, new permanent elective capacity but also tactically using some capacity that is already there. I will ask the health secretary to provide more detail of that. More generally, we have the new centre for sustainable delivery in the NHS, which is looking at how, not just in the immediate pressures of Covid but more generally, we provide healthcare more efficiently, effectively, with patient care at the heart and patient benefit at its heart. Fundamentally, it comes back to the point that I have made now to several members. I think that any member who is not concerned about the pressure on our health service right now would be wrong not to be. We are all hearing that from constituents, and I am acutely aware of it as First Minister. However, to be concerned about the pressure on our health service, while still arguing for a faster opening up from Covid restrictions, is not consistent. I would ask people to bear that in mind. I will call Bill Kidd to be followed by Stephen Kerr. Can I ask the First Minister for a Scottish Government response regarding the removal of social distancing signage on passenger seats and first bus services in Glasgow, which is causing concern and alarm to elderly and vulnerable passengers as it is seen as premature and unnecessary? I will certainly ask officials in the Government to raise that with first bus. I think that it is important that people are still advised about physical distancing. I am not particularly relevant for now, but it is also a matter that has been raised with me by constituents, so I will no doubt be raising it with first bus in a constituency capacity, as well as I am sure that Bill Kidd is. I call Stephen Kerr to be followed by Rhoda Grant. The freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right and an essential and sustaining component in the lives of many Scots. In welcoming the change in the indoor physical distance requirement, can the First Minister confirm that it is now permissible for worshippers to remove face coverings when they are seated, standing in place or kneeling in prayer? I will come back to the member with a specific answer on exactly what the legal position is so that I do not inadvertently get it wrong. My advice to people in places where they are around other people is to wear their face covering as much as possible, because it provides that protection, but I want to make sure that we get the precise detail on the legal point that is correct for him. Rhoda Grant The ferries to the western Isles and Argyll islands are at a third of capacity, and that, coupled with the constant breakdowns, is preventing people travelling, and that is causing personal and economic hardship. The First Minister talked about short notice places and turn-up and go places on ferries, but I have yet to find anyone who has been able to access those. Indeed, people have contacted me saying they have tried to, but I have been told that no such accommodation exists. First Minister, one additional ferry will really not cut it. Can I ask, therefore, that the First Minister looks at how capacity can be substantially increased safely and also ensure that the mitigations that should be in place are indeed in place for local people? I will not repeat everything that I said in response to Alasdair Allan, but that answer is obviously there on the record. Yes, we are, through Transport Scotland, talking to ferry operators about how we can get a better balance between safety measures and maximising capacity. That is important. I said earlier on, for visitors to our islands, the situation can be frustrating, but for those who live in our islands, it is much more than frustrating. However, we have to have safety uppermost in our minds. Rightly, if we were to not do that and take measures that the crew on our ferries considered was putting them at risk, Rhoda Grant and others would, as I say, be raising concerns about that. Those are difficult and often inescapable consequences of what we are all having to deal with right now. We will try to find the best balances that we can. On the issue of the short notice capacity, if Rhoda Grant wants to write to the Minister for Transport, we can get CalMac to give more detail about the provisions that are in place there. I understand the difficulty of that, and there is a real focus on trying to alleviate the situation as much as possible, but safety of crew and passengers obviously has to be a key consideration. Thank you. That concludes the statement by the First Minister on Covid-19 update, and I close this meeting.