LARGE gatherings are to be cancelled in a bid to delay the outbreak of coronavirus, Nicola Sturgeon has announced.
At First Minister's Questions, she said it is "inappropriate that we continue as normal" and she will recommend the cancellation of gatherings of more than 500 people to protect front-line services.
Sturgeon said she would be advising the cancellations start from Monday.
Explaining the reasons behind the advice to cancel mass gatherings, Sturgeon said: "This is a decision that we are basing on resilience issues and not simply on the action that we are required to take to reduce the spread of the virus."
READ MORE: FMQs LIVE: 'Sharp rise' of coronavirus cases expected today
Speaking ahead of a Cobra meeting with other UK leaders, Sturgeon said: "Mass gatherings are required to be policed, they require to have emergency ambulance cover, they require the services of our voluntary health services, and at a time when we need to be reducing the pressures on these front-line workers in order to free them up on the significant challenge that lies ahead, I do think it is inappropriate that we continue as normal.
"That is principally to protect the resilience of our front-line workers and we will continue to take decisions in collaboration with the other nations of the UK around issues like schools in the future - but driven very much by the scientific advice."
She added: "Our emergency services, like all parts of our workforce, are likely to suffer from higher than normal sickness absence rates in the weeks and months ahead and our NHS in particular will be under significant pressure.
"So it's important that we protect that resilience as much as possible and reduce any unnecessary burden on these front-line workers at this stage."
The Scottish Government is not recommending that schools or universities close but Sturgeon said it would be "kept under constant review".
Ahead of the latest announcement at 2pm of how many people in Scotland have been diagnosed with coronavirus, Sturgeon said she expects a "sharp rise in cases".
READ MORE: Coronavirus 'community transmitted case' confirmed in Scotland
Responding to Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw, Sturgeon added: "We may also see further evidence of community transmission of coronavirus.
"That underlines the seriousness of the situation we are all facing."
The Scottish Government's national clinical director Jason Leitch had previously said community transmission of Covid-19 - when the source of the transfer could not be traced - would be a "trigger" for the move from the contain phase to the delay phase.
Sturgeon pledged any additional money coming to Scotland's NHS from yesterday's UK Budget will go towards supporting the health service's efforts to tackle the infection.
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 hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel