Ferry campaigners on the Isle of Arran this week warned the popular destination will miss out on the reopening of the Scottish tourism industry because of severe capacity constraints on its lifeline ferry service.

Scotland’s crisis-hit tourism sector received a major boost last week when minister Fergus Ewing set a reopening date of July 15, leading to hopes the industry could yet salvage part of the summer season.

READ MORE: But there are fears Arran will lose out on tourism traffic because social distancing measures have led CalMac to drastically reduce the number of passengers it carries on services to the island.

Coronavirus fallout is central also to the article outlining that communities in tourist areas across Scotland must be made to “feel secure” amid the expected surge in staycations this summer, the chief executive of VisitScotland has urged, ahead of the reopening of the industry in July.

READ MORE: Malcolm Roughead said setting July 15 as the provisional reopening date for Scottish tourism has been “psychologically important” in giving businesses “something to aim at” after the sector was obliterated by coronavirus in the first half of the year.

Elsewhere in the Covid-19 fight, Scotland's Omega Diagnostics has seen a 455% surge in interest since March 23 as private investors have swarmed around biotech, pharmaceutical and healthcare stocks during lockdown.

READ MORE: According to shares website ADVFN, AIM-listed Omega is second only to Manchester’s Genedrive in generating new followers tracking company information during the past three months. Genedrive, which has developed two coronavirus tests, has seen a 1,400% increase in followers since the start of lockdown.

Also this week, a Scottish company aiming to tackle the major problem of charging electric vehicles for people without off-street parking options has raised £4.1 million to support development and growth of its “flat and flush” points.

READ MORE: Aberdeen-based Trojan Energy estimates 10 million people in the UK and 100 million in Europe park their vehicles on the street. It declared that switching to electric vehicles could potentially reduce European carbon dioxide emissions by more than 120 million tonnes annually.

Scottish merchant banker Sir Angus Grossart last week flagged his view that the housebuilding sector would be underpinned over time by a shortage of supply, following his investment of a further £1 million in Springfield Properties.

READ MORE: The investment has nearly doubled his stake in the Elgin-based housebuilder.

Bulletin: Scottish company wins £67m wind farm contract | Edinburgh firm goes from zero to 900,000 litres of sanitiser a week | Bike sales to top £1bn

Scott Wright: Rare intervention by pub giant ramps up heat on Sturgeon and Johnson to change social distancing rule

Ian McConnell: Whatever next from Boris on Brexit? A Tony the Tiger roar?

Mark Williamson: Windfall taxes could cover some of the costs of the lockdown

Kristy Dorsey on business: Post-covid clouds have no silver lining for airlines​

Monday Interview: 'We were back up and running after just two days shutdown'

SME Focus: Shetland builder to get back on site as coronavirus lockdown eases

And finally ... Rotunda owners unveil plan for 'biggest beer garden' in Glasgow