As many as 50,000 people in Scotland could be infected with coronavirus, it has been claimed, as the number of deaths from the disease rose to 25.
Chief medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood said the official total for the number of people who have tested positive for Covid-19 is a “very significant underestimate”
Figures on Thursday show 894 people in Scotland are now confirmed as having coronavirus, a jump of 175 from the previous day’s total of 719.
The number of deaths among Covid-19 patients has risen by three from 22 on Wednesday.
Dr Calderwood warned: “This is a very significant underestimate of the number of cases in Scotland.
“We’re probably looking at the order of 40,000 to 50,000 people in Scotland who are now infected with coronavirus.”
She added: “Many of them don’t yet know that they are infected nor indeed do they realise they are potentially going to infect those around them.”
While she said it has been very encouraging to see empty streets and empty shops, she said the fight against the disease was “going to be a long haul”.
READ MORE: Half of UK population may have caught the coronavirus, scientists claim
There are currently 57 coronavirus patients who are being treated in intensive care units across the country, up six from Wednesday.
It has been announced 1.5 million face masks are to be made available to health staff after independent testing showed these are safe to use despite being past their expiry dates.
“They have now undergone extensive testing, which has shown them to be fit for use,” First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said.
She added new regulations will come into force as early as Thursday, giving police the powers to impose social distancing measures introduced earlier this week as Scotland went on lockdown.
If people do not comply with these they could be “liable to an on-the-spot fine and, ultimately, if necessary, prosecuted”, the Ms Sturgeon said.
She stressed she hoped they will not have to be used, adding: “They are there to make sure we can ensure the right things are done to help us delay the spread of the virus.
“I completely recognise how unusual and out of character these regulations are.”
The First Minister added: “Ultimately this is about saving lives.
“This will get harder with every day that passes, to stay at home and to follow all the advice, but it remains essential that we all do so.”
Dr Calderwood warned the public not to become more relaxed about sticking to the rules as the weekend approaches.
She stressed: “Confining yourself to your own household, not mixing with other people who then are mixing with others, is so key and so important.”
The chief medical officer said Scotland is behind “particularly London but also other parts of England” in the number of cases of Covid-19 and the pressure that is placing on the NHS.
She said Scotland “perhaps” put measures in place at an earlier stage, adding: “What we hope is therefore that rapid acceleration that we have talked about is perhaps not as rapid as has been seen in other parts of the country.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel