Coronavirus: 500 tests in Scotland as first Briton dies

A total of 500 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out in Scotland – as the first British death was confirmed.

There have been no positive tests of Covid-19 in the country, the Scottish Government said in its latest daily update.

Positive tests have been returned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, a British man who was on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan has died, according to the country’s health ministry.

Officials said the man was the sixth person to have died on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which has been quarantined off the coast of Japan.

He is the first Briton to have died from coronavirus.

A United Kingdom Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Japan and are in contact with local authorities. Our sympathies and thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.”

A spokeswoman for Princess Cruises, which operates the Diamond Princess ship that the British man had been holidaying on, said: “All of us at Princess Cruises, including the crew of Diamond Princess, offer our sincere condolences to family members and friends for their loss.

“Our dedicated care team are on hand to provide support.”

On Thursday, it emerged schools have been issued with advice to prep staff on preventing the spread of infections by Health Protection Scotland (HPS).

Earlier this week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also chaired a Scottish Government resilience meeting with attendees including Health Secretary Jeane Freeman.

Scotland’s chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood previously said the Government and NHS were working on “containment first” and then – if coronavirus was discovered in this country – a range of measures to try to limit the number of people infected.

She also suggested people could be banned from gathering in large numbers to contain any spread.