Coronavirus in Scotland RECAP: Nicola Sturgeon says easing of lockdown restrictions to go ahead as planned

Nicola Sturgeon has said two of her ministers were “pretty mortified” after breaking coronavirus rules after they were pictured campaigning with groups of activists.

Graeme Dey, the minister who first announced the election coronavirus rules to MSPs, broke those rules by holding an outdoor gathering which he later apologised for.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney also apologised after he took a selfie with four other SNP activists while out leafleting.

The First Minister was asked about these breaches at her coronavirus briefing on Tuesday – the first time the briefing has taken place during the election period.

She said no-one was infallible, referring to her own “mishap” over Christmas where she was seen speaking to others without a mask.

Ms Sturgeon said: “The ministers, Graeme and John, who made a mistake around the size of gatherings when they were leafleting, were in the wrong.

“Both of them have apologised. If, as many of you do, you know either of them and how seriously they take their responsibilities – they are both pretty mortified at having done that.

“None of us, unfortunately, are perfect and none of us are infallible.

“I think it’s really important that when people like me who are asking people to follow these rules do slip up you’re really upfront about it and apologise and continue to ask people to do the right thing for all of the right reasons.”

London mayor Sadiq Khan has warned of a wave of “mass unemployment” when the furlough scheme ends in September without action to protect jobs.

Speaking at a campaign event in Westminster, Mr Khan said his focus would be on “jobs, jobs, jobs” if he was re-elected for a second term in the delayed elections on May 6.

He set out plans for a £32 million fund to establish four new skills academies to train Londoners for work in growth areas in the creative, digital, low carbon and health and social care sectors.

“My concern as somebody who lived through the 1980s is we could have another period of mass unemployment where a generation is written off,” he said.

“Should I be re-elected on May 6, our focus in the second term will be jobs, jobs jobs.

“That means protecting the jobs we have, supporting job creation but also helping those who have lost their jobs get back in work.”

A 28-year-old nurse who died with coronavirus less than a week after giving birth died of multiple organ failure and Covid-19, a coroner has ruled.

Delivering a narrative conclusion at the inquest into the death of sister Mary Agyapong, who died at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital, coroner Emma Whitting said: “The deceased died after contracting Covid-19 but it remains unclear where and when her exposure to the virus had occurred.”

Ms Agyapong died on April 12 last year at the hospital where she worked, five days after giving birth to her second child.

She spent at least the last week of her life with coronavirus, a diagnosis initially dismissed by medics at the hospital where she worked, despite collapsing at home and suffering acute breathing difficulties.

Her widower Ernest Boateng had told the inquest at Bedfordshire and Luton Coroner’s Court that she was concerned about becoming infected at work while heavily pregnant.

Ms Agyapong, who lived in Luton and was originally from Ghana, died as the Covid-19 case rate soared across the UK.

After the ruling, Mr Boateng said: “The sudden death of my wife and the mother of our two children has been the hardest pain to bear. In those early days after Mary’s death, I was only able to carry on because of the need to care for our children and provide them with a loving home.

“Mary was strong, capable, vibrant, full of life and the most precious person in my life. It is still difficult to believe that she lost her life to the Covid-19 virus.

“I am glad that those who were involved in Mary’s care in the final weeks of her life have had to give a full account of what happened.

“I hope that the fact that they have had to do so will remind them of the need to always give the best possible care to women in Mary’s situation – especially black women who are themselves on the frontline of healthcare.”

Captain Sir Tom Moore started each day with a bowl of porridge and his book of life lessons was at one point going to be called Eat Your Porridge, his ghost writer has said.

Journalist and biographer Wendy Holden wrote to the Second World War veteran after he hit the headlines last year by walking 100 laps of his garden, raising more than £32 million for the NHS.

She said her father, who also fought in Burma, would have been the same age as Sir Tom and they “clicked immediately”.

Ms Holden was the ghost writer for his autobiography Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day, published last year, and she also worked on his book of advice, called Captain Tom’s Life Lessons.

Before Sir Tom’s death on February 2, the book was due for release on what would have been his 101st birthday on April 30.

This has been brought forward to April 2, and Ms Holden said that he had been “very much looking forward to sharing his lessons and sharing his thoughts with the general public”.

More than 150,000 people in the UK have had Covid-19 recorded on their death certificate, new figures show.

The grim milestone was passed on March 18, but has only now been confirmed due to the time it takes for deaths to be registered.

The figures, which have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), show that 150,116 deaths involving coronavirus have occurred in the UK since the pandemic began.

The total includes all deaths where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, including suspected cases.

The ONS figures provide the fullest picture so far of how the Covid-19 pandemic has unfolded in the UK.

They are a more comprehensive measure of deaths than the numbers published daily by the Government, which count only those who died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus, and which currently stand at a total of 126,615.

Of the 150,116 deaths involving coronavirus reported by the ONS, 55,407 (37%) have taken place since the start of 2021.

The highest number of deaths to occur on a single day was 1,469 on January 19.

During the first wave of the virus, the daily death toll peaked at 1,461 deaths on April 8 2020.

Planned easing of coronavirus restrictions in Scotland is to go ahead despite cases “plateauing” rather than continuing to decline, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The First Minister was speaking during a Scottish Government, Covid-19 briefing, which are no longer given on a daily basis since the Scottish Parliament election campaign began last week.

Ms Sturgeon said the “Stay at Home” order would be removed from Friday and replaced with a “Stay Local” rule.

On Monday, hairdressers and barbers can reopen for pre-booked appointments, click and collect shopping will be permitted, and homeware shops and garden centres can welcome back customers.

University and college students can also return for in-person teaching and outdoor contact sports for 12-17-year olds may resume.

The First Minister said she will give further updates in April but that Scotland is on course to ease restrictions further, with cafes, restaurants, shops and gyms due to open from April 26 and more people allowed to meet up outdoors.

Further easing of restrictions in Scotland will go ahead from Monday, Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed.

Barbers and hairdressers will be allowed to reopen, along with more freedoms for non-essential retail and an increase in students in college returning to in-person teaching for practical subjects.

The First Minister announced the change earlier this month, but confirmed it would go ahead at the coronavirus briefing on Tuesday.

Shops will be allowed to open for click and collect services, along with homeware shops and garden centres.

The First Minister added: “We don’t want big crowds at these stores, so although they open from Monday, think about whether you really need to visit on Monday or if you’re able to wait until later in the week.”

Nicola Sturgeon confirms that easing of rules planned for 2nd and 5th April will go ahead. They are: ‘stay local’ instead of ‘stay at home’ – some on campus learning – contact sport for 12 to 17-year-olds – some retail services – hairdressers

The “stay at home” order in Scotland will be lifted later this week and replaced with a request for people to “stay local”, Nicola Sturgeon has announced.

The change was announced earlier this month and confirmed during the coronavirus briefing on Tuesday.

The First Minister said: “The stay at home rule is being replaced for the next three weeks at least with a requirement to stay local.

“That means the current travel restrictions, which prevent non-essential travel outside your own local authority area, will remain in place for another three weeks.

“I fully understand how frustrating that is for everybody – I share that frustration – like many of you, my family live in a different local authority to the one I live in, and so like anyone with loved ones in a different part of the country, I desperately want to see them in person.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned against complacency despite positive figures in the vaccination programme.

Almost 2.5 million people in Scotland have received the first dose of the vaccine, but the First Minister said at the coronavirus briefing people should still be “hyper-vigilant”.

“There are still no grounds for complacency,” she said.

“In fact, it is really important right now that while the vaccination programme continues to be rolled out, that all of us remain hyper-vigilant in how we’re going about our daily lives.”

The number of new cases is now “plateauing”, the First Minister said, after having consistently dropped throughout January and February.