First Minister @NicolaSturgeon: "As at 9am this morning there have been 9,409 positive cases confirmed, an increase of 371 from yesterday."
NS: "A total of 148 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected cases of the virus, and that is a decrease of 7 since yesterday."
NS: "It's really important for all of us to remember that each of these deaths represents a unique, loved, and irreplaceable individual, and I want to extend my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one."
NS: "I want to again thank all our health and care workers right across the country. This evening, many thousands of us will yet again applaud your efforts. We are all so deeply grateful to you for the extraordinary work you are doing."
NS: "Let me turn to the paper we've published a few moments ago about the decisions we'll need to take as we seek to contain this virus while also restoring a semblance of normality to our lives."
NS: "I want to be very clear with you at the outset. What we're publishing at this stage today is by necessity a first cut. I'm seeking today, really, to start a grown-up conversation with you, the public."
NS: "The decisions that lie ahead of us are really complex. We will seek to inform those decisions with the best scientific advice possible, but the science will never be exact so we will be required to make very careful judgements."
NS: "And we are in uncharted territory. It's impossible to know, with absolute certainty, what the impact of our decisions will be in advance. That means we must also be prepared to adapt, and change course, as we go."
NS: "We want to ease restrictions, of course we do, but we cannot absolutely rule out having to reapply some of them in future should we have evidence that the virus is again running out of control."
NS: "I want to be frank with you every single step of the way about all of these complexities and uncertainties. While today's paper is still quite high level, it is the start of a process."
NS: "In the days and weeks ahead, evidence, data, and modelling will allow us to take firmer decisions. As that happens, this paper will evolve into a detailed plan, with metrics, actions, milestones, and measurements attached to it."
NS: "Let me briefly set out some of the key points today. Firstly, this virus causes real harm, and we see that in the statistics we report, especially the numbers of people who have died. But the lockdown measures we are taking to contain the virus are also doing damage."
NS: "They're doing harm to the economy, to living standards, to children's education, to other aspects of our physical health, and to mental health and wellbeing. And the toll of that may also, in time, be measured in poorer health outcomes and in lives lost."
NS: "So we must try to find a better balance than the one we have right now. But my second point is that as we do so, we cannot and we must not take our eye off the need to suppress the virus and minimise the damage that it does."
NS: "Let me be very clear. Continuing to suppress COVID-19 is the central objective that we set out in this paper today."
NS: "Obviously we cannot guarantee that nobody will get this virus in future, far from it. But an assumption that it is somehow safe to allow a certain proportion or section of the population to get the virus is not part of the approach that we are taking."
NS: "Third, we are increasingly confident that measures we are taking now are suppressing the virus. The key factor is what is known as the reproduction rate - the R number. That needs to be as far below 1 as possible."
NS: "Before lockdown that R number was very likely above 3. That means everyone with the virus was infecting 3 more people, each of them was infecting 3 more people and so on and on. That is exponential growth."
NS: "Our best estimate now is that the R number is somewhere between 0.6 and 1. I should say it is still probably higher in certain settings such as care homes."
NS: "But we cannot be absolutely sure about any of that. That's why we need more time to monitor the statistics we report every day, like case numbers, hospital and ICU admissions, and numbers of deaths. We need to develop further our data through ongoing surveillance."
NS: "It's only when we are sure that the virus is under control that we can even start to ease any of the restrictions."
NS: "When we do reach that stage, the virus will be under control only because of the severity of the restrictions we're all living with right now. But the virus will not have gone away."
NS: "As we start to lift the restrictions, the real risk, and it is a very real risk, is that COVID-19 runs rampant again. So a return to normal as we knew it is not on the cards in the near future, and it's really important I'm up front with you right now about that."
NS: "What we will be seeking to do is find a new normal - a way of living alongside this virus, but in a form that keeps it under control and stops it taking the toll that we know it can do."
NS: "Social distancing and limiting our contacts with others will be a fact of life for a long time to come, certainly until treatments and ultimately a vaccine offer different solutions. So that means possibly for the rest of this year, and maybe even beyond."
NS: "That's why talk of lifting the lockdown, as if it's a flick of a switch moment, is misguided. Our steps, when we take them, will need to be careful, gradual, incremental, and probably quite small to start with."
NS: "We will need to assess them in advance and monitor them in action. Sometimes we may even need to reverse things."
NS: "As we go we will apply our judgement to the best scientific advice possible, we will continue to collaborate closely with the other governments across the UK, and we will learn from international experience."
NS: "The fact is, different countries are at different stages of this pandemic, but none of us are anywhere near through it yet, and we all face the same challenges."
NS: "As we make these decisions here, careful balances will have to be struck. It may be certain businesses in certain sectors can reopen, but only if they can change how they work to keep employees and customers two metres distant from each other."
NS: "Similarly, with schools, classrooms may have to be redesigned to allow social distancing so maybe not all children can go back to or be at school at the same times."
NS: "Some limited outdoor activity may be able to restart earlier than indoor activity, but let me be clear - big gatherings and events are likely to be off for some months to come."
NS: "We will consider whether different approaches will make sense for different areas, though our preference, not least for ease of understanding, will be for as much consistency as possible."
NS: "And given how severely this virus is affecting older people and those with other health vulnerabilities, some form of shielding will almost certainly be required for the future."
NS: "What I've set out there are not firm decisions but they illustrate the kind of options we will be assessing. As we do so we will consider not just the health imperatives, but also issues of practicality, sustainability, fairness and equity, ethics, and human rights."
NS: "As well as changes to how we live, we will use public health interventions and technology to the maximum possible to help us control this virus."
NS: "In the next phase, extensive testing, tracing of the contacts of those who test positive, and isolation of symptomatic people to break the chain of transmission will be a central part of the approach we take, and the preparations to make that possible are already underway."
NS: "We will also discuss with the UK Government, for this is a reserved responsibility, the need for stronger surveillance measures for those coming into this country from elsewhere."
NS: "So in short, this paper sets out the difficult decisions we face and the way in which we will go about preparing for them, making them, and also assessing their impact."
NS: "I want to stress again - because it is important that I am frank - the path ahead is not an easy one. It is paved with complexity and uncertainty. But with openness, transparency and frankness along the way, I believe together we will be able to navigate it."
NS: "It is for me and for government to work through and to lead that process, but this is about all of us, hence this discussion we have opened up with all of you today."
NS: "The paper we've published is available on the @scotgov website. Please, even if, like I suspect most of the population, you're not in the habit of reading government documents, have a look at it."
NS: "And if you have views on it, please let us know. These views are important and will be helpful."
NS: "I will continue to share our thinking with you as it develops, but let me now end on a vital point that you have become used to hearing me make each day."
NS: "Moving on from where we are now, as all of us want to do as quickly as it is safe to do, will only be possible if and when we do get this virus properly under control, and that means sticking with the current rules that are in place right now."
NS: "Stay at home except for essential purposes, stay 2m apart from others when you have to be out, do not meet up with those from other households, and isolate completely if you or anyone else in your household has symptoms."
NS: "This is tough. This is the toughest set of circumstances that the vast majority of us have ever lived through. I can't stand here and promise you it is going to get a whole lot easier soon."
NS: "But as I hope we have started to set out today, if we keep doing the right things, consider all the options carefully with the right objectives in mind, I do believe there will be a way through, and we will find that way through."
NS: "Thank you for all you are doing to help and, please, if you can, engage with this discussion as we go through the days and the weeks to come."
