NICOLA Sturgeon has warned there could be a rapid rise in instances of coronavirus in the days ahead, as the number of cases in Scotland rose from one to three.
New patients were confirmed in the Grampian area and another in Ayrshire. One had recently travelled to northern Italy and the other had contact with a known positive case. Both were said to be clinically well and receiving care.
The First Minister sought to reassure people that all appropriate measures to deal with the outbreak are being taken, when she visited the NHS 24 centre at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank.
She met nurses, call handlers and health advisers providing information to people about the outbreak.
“The reassurance for the public is that all appropriate steps are being taken,” she said.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: Two more people in Scotland diagnosed with covid-19
“The assurance for the public is that health protection teams working on this have all the information they need to make sure that patients are given the appropriate care they need but also that contact tracing is done quickly and robustly and those processes are already under way.”
The Scottish Government has forecast that up to 80% of Scots could be hit by the virus, but Sturgeon said this was the “worst-case scenario”.
“People right now are hearing big numbers, that are scary numbers and it is important we continue to put these in context. These are worst-case scenarios,” she said.
“Why do we have worst-case scenarios? So we are properly planning for whatever we might be facing in this.
“But those worst-case scenarios are not a forecast of what will necessarily come to pass.
“It is also the case that whatever the number of people who might end up getting coronavirus might be, the vast majority will have mild symptoms, it will be like a cold or a mild case of flu. It will be a smaller number who develop complications and need hospitalisation and that happens with seasonal flu every year.
“But the biggest reassurance of all is that governments – not just in Scotland but across the UK and globally – have been preparing for this for some time and all the appropriate steps have been taken to try as far as possible to mitigate and minimise the impact coronavirus will have.”
Sturgeon later told LBC she expected “the number of cases to rise, perhaps rapidly, in the days to come”.
NHS 24 has set up a special dedicated phone line – 0800 028 2816 – for people who have no symptoms of covid-19 to call for more information, with advice also available on the NHS Inform website.
The release of the new James Bond film was yesterday put back by seven months because of coronavirus. Its producers said they had moved the release of No Time To Die from April to November after “careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace”.
Residents at a sheltered housing complete in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, were told to stay in their homes overnight on Tuesday after one tenant was tested for covid-19 when they reported feeling unwell following their recent return from south-east Asia.
However, housing association Hanover Scotland said it contacted residents yesterday to say they could leave their homes and “carry on as normal”.
Meanwhile, the SNP’s Westminster leader said emergency legislation must be introduced to protect workers and ensure that benefit claimants are not sanctioned for missing appointments.
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During Prime Minister’s Questions, Ian Blackford spoke about the Bank of England’s governor’s suggestion of a “financial bridge” to help markets through any economic volatility, and wondered if a similar bridge would be there for ordinary workers and those on social security. He said statutory pay must be in line with the Living Wage, and Universal Credit claimants must not face sanctions.
The Government did bow to pressure and said statutory sick pay would be available to workers self-isolating from their first day off.
However, Poverty Alliance director Peter Kelly said: “Statutory sick pay should be significantly increased from its current level of £94.25 to reflect the cost of living, and the qualifying wage of £114 should be removed.”
The total number of cases in the UK rose yesterday to 85, as the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the epidemic was shifting west towards the Middle East, Europe and the US.
Deaths in Italy surged to 79, making it the deadliest outbreak outside China; 23 members of Iran’s parliament and head of the Iranian emergency services were infected, and South Korea confirmed hundreds of new cases. The US saw Infections top 100 and the death toll rise to nine, all in Washington state. Worldwide, more than 93,000 people have been infected and more than 3100 have died, the vast majority in China.
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