Nicola Sturgeon FMQs coronavirus update: This is when the First Minister will address Holyrood today, what she could say and how you can watch

The First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will give the Scottish Government’s latest coronavirus update at parliament today, March 4.

Here is what you need to know ahead of Nicola Surgeon’s coronavirus update today.

When and where is the announcement happening?

Sturgeon is expected to give the Scottish Government’s latest update on the coronavirus pandemic in Scotland before she faces First Minister’s Questions from MSPs at Parliament this afternoon at 12.30pm.

Nicola Sturgeon is to give a coronavirus update before FMQs today.

Where can I watch?

The weekly session of the Scottish Parliament will be live streamed on The Scotsman at 12:30pm, with up-to-the-minute news and analysis on our dedicated live blog.

You can also watch the announcement via the Scottish Parliament TV site.

What can we expect to come up?

We can expect the latest coronavirus and vaccination figures to feature in her briefing.

Questions addressed to the First Minister in the chamber will include ones from Scotland’s new Labour leader Anas Sarwar as well as Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie and the Scottish Green’s leader Patrick Harvie.

The FM’s update comes after she was asked questions at the Holyrood inquiry into the Scottish Government’s handling of sexual harassment complaints yesterday.

We are likely to see questions suggesting her resignation following on from Mr Salmond’s accusations that she misled MSPs about when she first learned of sexual harassment complaints against him.

We can generally expect questions surrounding the Scottish Government’s route map out of lockdown to feature in questions with a particular focus on specific dates for re-opening of services and what we can expect the new tier system to look like.

Speaking at her review on Tuesday, the First Minister said the Scottish Government will consider in the next week if the easing of restrictions can be accelerated.

She said: “I have always said if we can go further and faster, then we will not hesitate to do so.

“All of us want to move on as quickly as possible – and, as a priority, to see friends and family again.

"I hope that day is now not too far away.

“But to make sure we don’t see any reverse in our progress that would put that in jeopardy, it is really important that, for now, we all need to abide by the lockdown rules.”

The FM is also likely to take questions on the phased return of pupils in Scotland’s secondary schools which she announced on Monday.

She confirmed on Tuesday that from 15 March all children in primary 4 to 7 will go back to school on a full time basis with plans for secondary school pupils to spend some time in school in between March 15 and Easter break.

At the coronavirus briefing in Edinburgh yesterday, health secretary Jeane Freeman said the “very small proportion” of students will be able to request a PCR test so we may also see questions around this.

The First Minister will also be asked what the Scottish Government’s response is to the UK Budget and what action the Scottish Government is taking to protect and strengthen social connection in the wake of the pandemic.

The FM will also address what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that Scotland faces a penalty of up to £190 million because of irregularities in its EU structural fund spending.

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