THE First Minister has explained there are no plans to close schools or cancel large-scale public events in Scotland yet, but the situation will continue to be "kept under review".
Speaking as five new coronavirus cases were confirmed in Scotland earlier and the number of UK cases topped 300, Nicola Sturgeon spoke out against panic buying and explained self-isolation measures may be expanded.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: PM warns containment 'unlikely to work on its own'
There have now been five deaths from coronavirus in the UK.
The SNP leader urged Scots 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."
Coronavirus: No current plans to close Scottish schools, says @NicolaSturgeon ➡️ https://t.co/P4pYQfEcyG pic.twitter.com/O9xSpUqV52
— BBC Scotland News (@BBCScotlandNews) March 9, 2020
The First Minister said that while everything remains under review, "the advice is telling us that closing schools would not be an appropriate thing to do right now and similarly with large-scale public events, but all of that continues to be kept under review and informed by the best advice".
She went on: "I want to be very clear though – the situation is still that all cases in Scotland so far can be traced either to international travel to affected areas or to other confirmed cases.
"That means we continue to be very much in the contained phase, that is true of the UK as a whole and as you know by now the contained phase involves a focus on identifying those contacts of confirmed cases, people that they have been in close contact with, following up those individuals, offering testing where necessary and appropriate advice."
READ MORE: Coronavirus LIVE: 23 cases confirmed in Scotland
Earlier today the UK Government gave a conference after their emergency Cobra meeting. Westminster too has no immediate plans to cancel large events or shut down schools, but the Prime Minister did acknowledge the virus will spread in a "significant" way.
England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty added “probably within the next 10-14 days” there will be “a situation where we say everybody who has even minor respiratory tract infections or a fever should be self isolating for seven days afterwards”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here