Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Sunday, Mr Leitch reiterated the instructions of the Scottish Government for people to stay at home.

The comments come as reports emerged of a shift in messaging by the UK Government, which has changed part of its slogan from "stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives" to "stay alert, control the virus, save lives".

Boarded up restaurants and pubs in Glasgow.

Mr Leitch also said speculation in the media this week about any changes to the lockdown measures the Prime Minister would announce at the Sunday briefing was "unhelpful".

The national clinical director said he and other Scottish Government officials had not seen the new slogan, nor did they know what the Prime Minister would announce on Sunday.

He added: "The First Minister and I, earlier in the week at one of our press briefings, made it very clear that we think, certainly in Scotland, it is too early to think about any major changes.

"The First Minister was quite clear that the key message was 'stay at home' and I then reiterated exactly that."

Mr Leitch continued: "We are in a very fragile moment, and actually Mr (Dominic) Raab the same day said they were going to proceed with maximum caution.

"We think that's right. We think that maximum caution is right at the moment."

Mr Leitch would not be drawn on whether the new slogan created confusion about the message in the general population, instead reiterating the Scottish Government's stay-at-home message.

He said: "The best protection for this virus is your own front door."

Tweeting on Sunday morning, Nicola Sturgeon said: "The Sunday papers is the first I've seen of the PM's new slogan.

"It is of course for him to decide what's most appropriate for England, but given the critical point we are at in tackling the virus, #StayHomeSaveLives remains my clear message to Scotland at this stage."

The adviser to the First Minister also gave the first glimpse of estimates of the reproduction rate, known as the R number, which shows the speed of the spread of the virus.

Claiming that the R number was not an "exact science", Mr Leitch said the best estimate of the Scottish Government would put the figure at "0.8, 0.9, somewhere in that region".

The First Minister said last week the Scottish Government were only considering the expansion of the amount of exercise which can be taken each day.

Mr Leitch refused to pre-empt the announcement by Ms Sturgeon on Sunday afternoon, however he did say that an improvement in the number of cases and hospital admissions following any relaxing of the exercise guidance would lead to further changes.

He said: "In short order, the First Minister has said some of the outdoor things like garden centres or farmers markets, perhaps some individual sports might be able to be released, but we're not there yet."

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Jason Leitch urges 'maximum caution' in easing lockdown