Coronavirus: Number of Scottish cases soars to 60

The number of coronavirus cases in Scotland has risen to 60.

It marks the largest daily increase of Covid-19 patients since the outbreak began – a rise of 24 since Wednesday.

The figures were published as part of the Scottish Government’s daily coronavirus update, and show a total of 2892 tests have been carried out.

The highest number of Covid-19 cases is in the Lothian region, with 11, while the number of patients in Greater Glasgow and Clyde has doubled from five to ten.

There are seven cases apiece in Lanarkshire and the Grampian area, six each in Shetland and Forth Valley, four each in the Ayrshire and Arran region and Tayside, three in Fife and two in the Borders.

Across the UK, there has been a spike of more than 100 cases since Wednesday, with 590 people testing positive for the virus, up from 456.

There have been a further two deaths among patients with Covid-19, taking the British total to ten.

It comes as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned she is likely to ban public gatherings of 500 people or more starting next week.

All the governments of the UK are in attendance at a Cobra meeting on Thursday afternoon where it is expected the country will move from the containment to the delay phase of tackling the outbreak.

This means infection control measures like banning large events or closing schools could be put into affect, although Sturgeon has stressed it is currently not official advice to close schools or universities.