RECOGNITION IN JUST 4 WEEKS
there were no plans to close schools.
Two days later, the first case of community transmission was confirmed north of the Border.
The following day, Sturgeon announced mass gatherings would be cancelled.
The next day, March 13, the first death of a
Covid-19 patient in Scotland was announced, as confirmed cases hit 85.
Calderwood said the patient who died was treated by NHS Lothian and was an older person with pre-existing medical conditions.
By March 15, two weeks after the first confirmed case, some schools started to close. The
Scottish Government announced those with symptoms would no longer be routinely tested for the virus and should not seek medical help unless their condition deteriorated.
The second death came two days later, with a third the following day as it was announced all schools would close by the end of that week. By March 22, three weeks after the first confirmed case, 10 people had died and there were 416 confirmed cases.
By then, all restaurants, cafes, pubs and cinemas had been asked to close and people were told to exercise social distancing, with stricter measures for the more vulnerable.
The following day, the three-week lockdown was announced, with Sturgeon saying the virus is “the biggest challenge of our lifetime”.
Four days later, UK-wide emergency laws came into force in Scotland, enabling police to fine people flouting the rules put in place to tackle the outbreak. These include banning gatherings of more than two people who don’t live in the same house.
Addressing the rapidly evolving situation as the fourth week since the first Scottish case approached, the First Minister posted online: “As we head into the weekend, I want to say a massive thank you to everyone across Scotland doing the right thing – I don’t underestimate how tough this is, but it will save lives and get us through and hopefully back to normal more quickly.”
Yesterday, the number of coronavirus deaths reached 41. A total of 13,889 Scottish tests have now been done, with 12,505 tests confirmed negative and 1384 tests coming back positive.