ウィスパリング同時通訳研究会コミュのStatement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on the Programme for Government 2020 to 2021 at the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh on Tuesday 1 September 2020.

(0:17) Thank you. Presiding Officer,
I will start with a very brief update on today’s COVID statistics.
An additional 154 positive cases were confirmed yesterday.
That represents 1.2% of people newly tested, and takes our total number of cases to 20,632.
The full health board breakdown is available on the Scottish Government website.
However, I would draw attention to the fact that 66 of today’s cases are in Greater Glasgow & Clyde, and the situation there is causing us some concern.
Further analysis is underway, and I will be chairing a meeting of the Resilience Committee late this afternoon to consider what action may be necessary to prevent further spread. I will provide a further update after that.
I can also confirm that a total of 264 patients are currently in hospital with COVID. That is 6 more than yesterday.
And 6 people are in intensive care, which is 1 more than yesterday.
In the past 24 hours, though, no deaths were registered of patients who had tested positive for COVID. The number of deaths under that measurement (2:17)(177w.m) remains 2,494.
These statistics remind us that the times we are living through are far from normal.
The pandemic continues to have a profound impact on our health and wellbeing, on business and the economy - indeed, on our whole way of life.
That is true here in Scotland, and across the globe.
It follows then that this is not a normal, business as usual, Programme for Government.
Today’s programme is clear that suppressing COVID is our most immediate priority - and it will remain so for some time.
That is essential for the protection of health and life. And for economic and social recovery.
Put simply, if COVID runs rampant again, our economy will sustain even deeper, longer lasting damage.
This Programme faces up to that inescapable fact.
However, we will not simply hunker down and wait for the storm to pass.
We can’t afford to do that.
We must end our contribution to climate change, improve biodiversity, invest in our infrastructure, make our public services fit for the future, harness the economic and social opportunities of new technology, make homelessness history, and lift children out of poverty.
So, even amidst the uncertainties of a global pandemic, this is a time to be ambitious.
To use the disruption of COVID to rethink how we do things.
To make sure our immediate response to the virus works, not just in the short term, but that it also helps shape a stronger, greener, fairer future.
We must treat the COVID challenge, not as a brake on our ambitions, but an accelerant.
After all, if our response to the virus has taught us anything, it is that we can achieve progress more quickly than we thought possible when we set our minds to it.
The roll out of a digital consulting system in the NHS had proceeded at a snail’s pace for years. It was completed in less than a month after COVID struck.
A new hospital was created in a matter of weeks.
Armies of volunteers and public sector workers made sure the vulnerable had access to food and medicines.
Rough sleepers were given places to stay.
And unprecedented support for business was distributed quickly and effectively.
None of us would have chosen to live through a global pandemic. We will always grieve the lives lost, and never forget our separation from loved ones.
But we are also being reminded, every day, of the resilience of our human spirit, the power of human compassion, and the ingenuity of human intellect.
We must harness all of that for the future.
So this Programme for Government sets out plans for a stronger, more resilient, more sustainable economy - with a laser focus on creating new, good, green jobs.
It guarantees opportunities for our young people - and refuses to accept that their generation will carry the economic scars of COVID into adulthood.
It strengthens and reforms public services, including our National Health Service.
And it takes the first step on the road to a National Care Service.
It promotes equality and wellbeing, with decisive action on child poverty.
At the heart of this Programme is a new, game-changing Scottish Child Payment.
And it starts to reimagine how we can live our lives in ways and in places that prioritise health and wellbeing - recognising the benefits, not just to individuals, but to the economy.
Let me turn then to the detail and, firstly, to the necessity of suppressing and hopefully eliminating COVID.
While nothing can be ruled out, we want to do everything possible to keep COVID under control without another national lockdown.
The means building and supporting public health infrastructure that can break the chains of transmission and keep outbreaks contained.
Working with the UK, we have already expanded testing capacity and we will continue to do so.
We will also make access to testing more accessible.
Yesterday, the Scottish Ambulance Service took over the running of mobile test units, and will continue to extend their reach.
I want to thank the Army for their work in establishing and running these units so far.
Also, by the end of October, 11 new walk in testing centres will open across Scotland. Over the course of winter, this will rise to 22.
And we will ensure that decisions on who gets tested, and for what purposes, are informed by up to date scientific and clinical advice.
We will also continue to strengthen Test & Protect.
Built from the bottom up, this system harnesses the skill of Scotland’s well established health protection teams.
It is working extremely well so far, and I am very grateful to everyone involved.
However, I can announce today a significant enhancement to Test & Protect.
Later this month, we will launch ‘Protect Scotland’, our new proximity tracing app.
The app will provide an additional means of notifying and giving advice if you’ve been exposed to someone who has tested positive - even if you don’t know that person and they don’t know you.
There will be more information at the time of launch - as well as important assurances about privacy and confidentiality - but I encourage everyone to download and use the app as soon as it becomes available.
Stopping the virus in its tracks wherever possible is our priority.
However, we must be prepared for any second wave if it happens.
Our NHS is already restarting procedures that had to be paused.
However, it is also maintaining hospital and ICU capacity to deal with COVID if necessary. That includes keeping the NHS Louisa Jordan open through winter.
We are also replenishing stocks and strengthening supply chains to ensure we have PPE for health and care workers. I’m pleased to say that much of that PPE is now made here in Scotland.
We are continuing to learn lessons to protect care home residents - this includes routine testing of care home workers.
And we are reducing the potential concurrent winter risk of flu, by extending eligibility for the flu vaccine to everyone over the age of 55, social care workers and those who live with ‘shielded’ people.
Keeping COVID under control is, of course, the responsibility of government, first and foremost.
But we cannot do it alone. It requires a continued collective effort.
We will only succeed if we all play our part.
That is why I ask again that everyone across Scotland abides by the FACTS rules.
Please do the right thing. Please keep our country safe.
the chamber. (42:06)