Coronavirus cases in Scotland rise by 24 to 60

Fans use wipes to clean hands at last night's St Mirren v Hearts game as the coronavirus outbreak continues

The number of Scottish cases of coronavirus has seen the largest rise yet, with 24 more confirmed.

The daily 2pm update from the Scottish Government said that 60 people have now tested positive out of 2892 tests.

Nicola Sturgeon earlier today fielded questions from party leaders on the Scottish Government’s response to coronavirus.

At First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, Ms Sturgeon told MSPs a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people was imminent to stop the spread of Covid-19.

In response to a question from Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw, Ms Sturgeon said the restriction would likely begin from Monday, adding it is “inappropriate that we continue as normal”.

Update on #coronavirus testing

As of 2pm today, 2892 Scottish tests have concluded:

2832 confirmed negative
60 positive

Read our latest update ➡️ https://t.co/kZjGNz2EDe
Health advice ➡️ https://t.co/l7rqArB6Qu
Guidance for travel ➡️ https://t.co/5DPKW9lGae #COVIDー19 pic.twitter.com/6b88yNvBzq

— Scottish Government (@scotgov) March 12, 2020

The First Minister, along with Health Secretary Jeane Freeman and chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood will dial into a meeting of the UK Government’s Cobra committee later on Thursday to discuss steps to limit the spread of the virus.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard asked the First Minister what plans were in place to ensure social care services were supported.

She responded: “He is absolutely right to talk about the importance of protecting older people and those with underlying health conditions.”

Ms Sturgeon said the focus of the response from the Scottish and UK Governments was on stopping the spread of the virus, as well as protecting the most vulnerable, who are likely to suffer the worst effects.

She added: “The contribution of social care, not just care homes but social care in the community, will be absolutely vital.

“The Health Secretary has already had discussions with Cosla, which has a critical part to play in making sure that those contingency plans are in place and ready to be implemented.

“I can assure Richard Leonard that all of those plans, with a view to implementation, are well advanced and we will continue to progress them.”

Mr Leonard said social care workers were the “bedrock” of communities, asking – in light of the UK budget on Wednesday – what support they would receive.

Ms Sturgeon said there was clarity needed on the amount that would be sent to Scotland before commitments could be made.

She added: “We will be looking across our budget at ways in which we need to change what we’re doing and how we’re doing it to support the efforts to deal with this challenge in the weeks ahead.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie asked the First Minister what was being done to increase the intensive treatment unit isolation capacity in the health service, including inquiring about a section of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children and Young People in Edinburgh, which has been built but remains unopened.

The First Minister said: “That is being looked at right now, obviously we have to be sure that using any facility will be safe to do but we want to make sure that we’re able to utilise all capacity that can be used.”

Ms Sturgeon said she and the Health Secretary were looking to double intensive treatment unit capacity, while theatre and other facilities in hospitals were being looked at as possible usable spaces.

She added: “There will inevitably be an impact and I would anticipate a significant impact on non-urgent elective procedures within the NHS but it is important that we set that out properly, once that planning has been done.”