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The government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme will be extended, giving more security to individuals whose livelihoods are adversely affected by coronavirus in the coming months, the Chancellor announced today (Friday 29 May 2020).

A particular type of ultraviolet light known as far-UVC could be safely used for air disinfection in public places without harming people, according to new research carried out jointly at the University of St Andrews and Ninewells Hospital in Dundee. This research is very timely as the world looks for new ways to disinfect rooms and help eliminate the Covid-19 coronavirus.

In early march when COVID-19 started to really impact business in Scotland, eCom Scotland, a Fife based leader in online learning and assessment was quick to react with their business continuity plans, usually kept for emergency situations such as ‘The Beast from the East’. 

A new online service has been launched to let small and medium-sized employers recover Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) payments they have made to their employees for coronavirus-related absences.

The Scottish Government has issued guidance for manufacturers and retailers to help them plan to re-start as the country moves out of lockdown.  It follows the recent publication of a route map setting out the four phases by which the Scottish Government will ease lockdown in a series of carefully controlled steps.  Non-essential manufacturing operations are due to re-open during phase 2 of the re-start programme.   Small retail units are also scheduled to re-open in phase 2, while larger retail units should open in phase 3.  The guidance sets out all the factors that manufactur

In a statement to the Scottish Parliament earlier today, the Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Fiona Hyslop MSP outlined further measures that the Scottish Government are taking to support more businesses adversely affected by Covid-19:

Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) 21 regional groups are preparing to launch an awareness campaign across Scotland showcasing roles within the key sectors to make young people more aware of the types of jobs involved and what skills/qualities would be required. We want to tap into the energy of key workers to push this campaign forward and inspire the next generation. The campaign which will be promoted across social media platforms and will feature a variety of sectors and job roles.

Two University of St Andrews students have set up an operation to provide the public with face masks at zero mark up to eliminate predatory price-gouging.

Cogan Wade and Frederik Filz von Reiterdank were appalled on seeing the mark up of face masks when they tried to source them for their volunteering charity, StudentsAgainstCorona.

As the First Minister prepares to announce her plans to begin easing lockdown restrictions, the latest Covid-19 Tracker survey by the Scottish Chamber of Commerce clarified what business needs to navigate the changes smoothly.

The survey captures views from hundreds of businesses from across Fife and the rest of the country and the findings are stark:  the absolute requirement for clarity, contingency and continuity to allow a safe and successful restart of the economy: