Scotland coronavirus timeline: How crisis has developed during month of March

A timeline of events during March

Just four weeks ago, the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in Scotland – here is a look back at how the coronavirus crisis has escalated north of the Border since.

1 March

On Sunday, 1 March, the Scottish Government announced the first confirmed Covid-19 case in Scotland. The patient, a Tayside resident recently returned from Italy, was treated in isolation at hospital.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Scotland has risen from zero to 1,384 during the month of March.

News had first emerged of patients being tested for the virus in Scotland more than a month previously, on 23 January, with negative test results being reported the following day.

By 30 January Scotland’s chief medical officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood, warned that a positive case of coronavirus was “highly likely” in the coming days. However, it was just over a month before the first positive test result.

A day after the first positive case was confirmed Dr Calderwood said Scotland would continue with “business as usual” even in the event of the virus spreading across the country, while in the first of what would become daily briefings, Nicola Sturgeon said the Scottish Government expected a “significant outbreak of coronavirus”.

8 March

On 8 March, a week after the first case, there were 18 confirmed cases. Two days later the first case of community transmission was confirmed north of the Border and the following day Ms Sturgeon announced mass gatherings would be cancelled.

13 March

On 13 March, the first death of a Covid-19 patient in Scotland was announced as confirmed cases hit 85. Dr Calderwood said the patient, treated by NHS Lothian, was an older person with pre-existing medical conditions.

15 March

By 15 March, two weeks after the first confirmed case, some schools began to close and the Scottish Government announced that those with symptoms would no longer be routinely tested for the virus and should not seek medical help unless their condition deteriorated.

The second death came two days later, with a third the following day as it was announced all schools would close by the end of the week.

22 March

By 22 March, three weeks after the first confirmed case, ten people had died and there were 416 confirmed cases.

All restaurants, cafes, pubs and cinemas had been asked to close and people were told to practise social distancing, with stricter measures for the more vulnerable.

23 March

The following day the three-week lockdown was announced, with Ms Sturgeon saying the virus is “the biggest challenge of our lifetime”.

27 March

Four days later UK-wide emergency laws came into force in Scotland, enabling fines for flouting the rules to tackle the outbreak, including gathering in groups of more than two unless living in the same house.

Addressing the rapidly evolving situation as the fourth week since the first Scottish case approached and deaths hit 33, Ms Sturgeon posted online: “I don’t underestimate how tough this is, but it will save lives.”

29 March

As of Sunday, 29 March, the Scottish Government stated that a total of 13,889 tests had been concluded in Scotland, with 1,384 of those tests returning positive.

A total of 41 coronavirus patients in Scotland have now died from the disease.

30 March

Police Scotland announced they had handed out 25 fixed penalty notices over breaches of strict Coronavirus lockdown rules during the first weekend of new emergency powers.