Please don’t panic buy goods, urges Sturgeon as Scots virus cases rise to 23
NICOLA Sturgeon has urged people to “be sensible” and not panic buy goods – as she confirmed the number of Scottish coronavirus cases has now risen to 23.
The First Minister stressed that people with mild symptoms may have to take action if the situation escalates – but that we are “very much” still in the contain phase of the response.
Five new cases in Scotland have been confirmed – but none of the patients are in a serious condition.
A total of 2,101 Scottish tests have taken place so far, with 23 confirmed cases. Overall, five cases have been confirmed in the Lothian region, four in Grampian and three in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area.
Two cases have also been confirmed in both Shetland and Fife.
Speaking after taking part in an emergency Cobra meeting with the UK Government, Ms Sturgeon said: “All cases so far in Scotland can be traced either to international travel to affected areas or to other confirmed cases.
“We continue to be very much in the contain phase – that’s true of the UK as a whole.
“There is an increasing inevitability that we will face a significant outbreak of coronavirus across the UK. Therefore, increasingly the focus of discussions is on the move into the delay phase.
“That is when efforts switch to measures that will delay the spread of the virus, flatten the infection curve and reduce the number of people that are infected at any one time.”
She added that entering the delay phase “must be driven very firmly by good quality scientific advice”.
The First Minister also warned people against panic buying goods after some supermarkets were left with empty shelves and were out of stock on essentials, including toilet roll, pasta and paracetamol.
Ms Sturgeon told the public to “be sensible and not to rush out to buy things because you’re worried about shortages”.
She added: “It’s often that kind of behaviour that causes the shortages – not any underlying issue.”
The First Minister said that advice to self-isolate for those from vulnerable groups with symptoms “might be extended to people who have much more mild symptoms” but that it would “not be appropriate” as things stand.
She added: “Over the next couple of weeks that may change and therefore mild symptoms may become more indicative of coronavirus.
“At some stage, advising people with milder symptoms to stay at home is one of the things that people should perhaps expect.
“Even with all of these measures, we are in all likelihood facing, over the next number of weeks, a very challenging situation.”
Ms Sturgeon said that testing people arriving at airports from certain countries “would not be the most effective thing to do”.
Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer Catherine Calderwood added: “You would be testing somebody for a high temperature and not everyone who has coronavirus has a high temperature.
“You are potentially falsely reassured by somebody’s temperature being normal.”
Earlier, it was confirmed one person at the University of the West of
Scotland (UWS) Lanarkshire campus in Hamilton has tested positive for the coronavirus.
In a joint statement, UWS and NHS Lanarkshire said: “As a university community we wish them a swift and full recovery. The person concerned had limited contact with a small group of individuals at the university. All have been contacted, are well and have no symptoms.”