First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told a briefing at the Scottish Government headquarters in Edinburgh that the new measures being brought in across the UK to tackle the spread of coronavirus would "change life as we know it".

The First Minister updated the nation this evening after the number of positive Covid-19 cases rose to 171.

As many as 4895 people have now been tested and one person has died.

Just two of the country's 14 health boards – Orkney and the Western Isles – are without a single case and most of those found so far are in Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood said there is now "sustained evidence of community transmission" within the country and Sturgeon said Scotland is "now at the cusp of a very rapid acceleration of the virus" and "could see cases double every five days".

Urging the public to get behind the Scottish Government's action plan aimed at reducing the number of people who will die from coronavirus, she said: "I'm acutely aware of the anxiety people feel right now.

"I don't mean to be trite or cliched in any way when I saw we are all in this together."

The comments came as UK adopted new restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the illness.

She went on: "None of us wanted to be in this position. It is, in our lifetimes, an unprecedented situation."

"What we are asking people now to do will significantly and substantially change life as we know it for a significant period of time," she said.

"We are all in this together. If we do the right things, if we all follow the advice that is being given we can get through this and we will get through this.

"What we are asking people now to do will significantly and substantially change life as we know it for a significant period of time.

"We are all in this together. If we do the right things, if we all follow the advice that is being given we can get through this and we will get through this."

Sturgeon also said people with a persistent cough or high fever – along with all of those in the same household - should self-isolate for 14 days.

Boris Johnson issued that advice in a separate press conference shortly before Sturgeon's, adding that for affected persons: "If possible you should not go out, even to buy food or essentials, other than for exercise and in that case at a safe distance from others."

By the weekend, it is expected that this will extend again to "ensure that those with the most serious health conditions are largely shielded from social contact for around 12 weeks", Johnson said: “We want to ensure that this period of shielding, this period of maximum protection, coincides with the peak of the disease.

"It is now clear that the peak of the epidemic is coming faster in some parts of the country than in others.”

Scotland's chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood indicated that preventative measures could be in place for "several months" to prevent the spread of the disease.

Calderwood said: "We have in Scotland sustained evidence of community transmission of the virus here.

"The measures that we are outlining are to prevent the spread of this virus and to protect our whole population."

She said it is aimed at preventing NHS services from becoming overwhelmed.

Most of those who contract the virus are expected to have either mild or moderate symptoms, the press conference heard, but Calderwood warned that "some of our Scottish population will become very severely ill and sadly some may die".

Very vulnerable people with compromised immune systems – estimated to be around 200,000 in Scotland – will be asked to self-isolate for a "period of weeks or months", Calderwood said.

Sturgeon urged everyone in Scotland to ramp up their efforts to "socially distance" to halt the spread of coronavirus.

The First Minister echoed measures announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson following a Cobra meeting on Monday with the four devolved administrations, who outlined plans to follow Scotland's lead and advise against mass gatherings.

She urged people to begin working at home where possible and asked that they stop going to places with a high concentration of people such as pubs or cinemas.

Sturgeon also said people with a persistent cough or high fever – along with all of those in the same household – should self-isolate for 14 days.

Scotland's chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood indicated that preventative measures could be in place for "several months" to prevent the spread of the disease.

People showing symptoms in Scotland are asked not to phone NHS 24 or call their GPs unless their symptoms worsen or they have underlying health problems.

Those with minor symptoms are no longer routinely tested for the virus, with emphasis on moving to hospital patients.

Yesterday Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO) urged countries to "test, test, test – test every suspected case, if they test positive, isolate them and find out who they have been in contact with two days before they developed symptoms and test those people too".

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Sturgeon faced questions as to why Scotland was straying from the WHO advice. She responded by describing the "robust and extensive population testing" measures being rolled out which, while won't necessitate individual tests, will be indicative of the spread of the virus.

Calderwood said the UK has the ability to have a very large number of tests happen every day. 

Sturgeon also emphasised that school closures may not be "binary" across the whole of Scotland. She said it is possible that geographic measures take place, where some regions of Scotland may see closures instead of blanket closures across the country. 

Asked why the measures were suddenly ramping up, Sturgeon said: "We are now at the cusp, perhaps slightly faster than was anticipated a week or two ago, we are at the cusp where we could see cases double over five to six days."

Calderwood added: "When you instigate measures such as this, it usually takes two or three weeks to show an impact." 

She said action needed to be taken now to maximise prevention.