NICOLA Sturgeon has warned coronavirus cases could rise "rapidly" in the coming days. 

The First Minister said she expected the NHS to come under "significant pressure", but stressed the vast majority of people will experience only mild symptoms. 

It comes after it was reported officials are preparing for the death rate to reach 100,000 across the UK. 

Ms Sturgeon described such figures as a “worst case scenario” and not forecasts. 

Speaking to the BBC's Politics Scotland, she said: "As of now, we have 16 confirmed cases [in Scotland]. 

"I expect that to rise. I expect it to rise today, I expect to see it rise perhaps rapidly in the days to come. 

"It is now very likely that we are facing a significant outbreak of coronavirus across the UK and we're preparing for that."

Check the latest coronavirus updates as Scotland records positive cases of COVID-19

The First Minister said school closures are "one of several measures that could be considered here". 

She said there is still "lots we can do" to try to contain the spread of the virus. 

Ms Sturgeon added: "But when that ceases to be possible there are actions that we can take to try to slow down the spread of the virus and, crucially, reduce the number of people who are going to be affected at any one time, and that's crucial because obviously the fewer people affected at any one time the less the pressure will be on our NHS. 

"That said, there is likely to be a significant pressure on the NHS, so we are also planning to scale up the capacity the NHS has to treat people. 

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"The vast majority of people will not need hospital treatment. The vast majority of people who get this virus will have very mild symptoms – something akin to the cold or a mild case of flu. 

"But for the smaller number who will need hospital treatment, the focus is on making sure the NHS is equipped to provide that care and treatment."