THE First Minister has announced an extra £50 million will be made available for the social care sector during the coronavirus crisis.
Speaking at her daily press briefing, Nicola Sturgeon said the funding would be allocated across every local authority area in Scotland, and “will cover both care home services and care at home services”.
Sturgeon’s announcement came as a further 50 people died from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours in Scotland, taking the country’s death toll to 1912.
The SNP leader also announced the Scottish Government is setting aside £31 million to extend eligibility to the Small Business Grants Scheme.
READ MORE: ‘Too many are still dying’ of coronavirus, says Nicola Sturgeon
Sturgeon said the extension would apply to premises which qualified for Charitable or Sports Rates Relief but which would otherwise have been eligible for the small business bonus.
She said: "Charities occupying those properties can now receive small business grants. Those grants, as you may remember, are worth £10,000 for the first property, and £7,500 for any subsequent properties owned by the same organisation.
"We know that many charities which run small premises - such as day centres, offices or workshops - have been really hard hit by a loss of revenue during this pandemic.
"Many of those charities - which include providers of health and care services - are still providing vital support to those who need it.”
During her briefing the First Minister also emphasised the point, again, that Boris Johnson’s latest lockdown easing measures only apply to England.
She explained people are still in lockdown and must follow the Stay at Home measures, adding the UK Government’s safety at work guidance does not apply to Scotland. “That guidance is not operational in Scotland at this stage, since we are not currently encouraging more people to go back to work,” she said.
Speaking on the number of new Covid-19 cases, Sturgeon said: "As at 9 o’clock this morning, there have been 13,763 positive cases confirmed - an increase of 136 from yesterday.
“A total of 81 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected Covid-19. That is an increase of 1 since yesterday.
"In terms of the numbers in hospital, I want to give a bit more context to that today. As of last night, total of 1618 patients were in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 - that is an increase of 165 from yesterday.
"However, that increase is entirely in suspected cases. The number of confirmed cases is 1,131 and that is a decrease of 14."
The First Minister said the Government is looking into the rise in suspected cases but urged “caution” against concern over the figures in the meantime.
On the number of deaths, she added: "As always, I want to stress that behind each of these statistics is a unique and irreplaceable individual whose loss right now is a source of grief to many. I want to send my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one to this virus."
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