Government scrambles to find coronavirus patient's recent contacts

With Scotland’s first coronavirus case confirmed, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the government is tracing the patient’s steps to find out who they may have been in contact with over the past couple of weeks.

Here is the full transcript of her interview with STV News senior reporter Gordon Chree:

“Tonight’s news that there is now a confirmed case in Scotland is not unexpected. We have been preparing for this and indeed are preparing for the likelihood we’ll see further cases confirmed in coming days and weeks.

“In terms of the management of this case, contact tracing – identifying and giving appropriate advice and when appropriate testing with people who have been in contact with this patient is underway and well established procedures are being followed.

“The Scottish Government had been planning for this and is planning for what could be a significant outbreak of coronavirus and will continue to take all necessary preparations.

“Obviously for reasons of patient confidentiality there will be a limit to the amount of information about the patient. We do know the patient recently returned from travel to Italy.

“So there is clear travel history that tells where this patient got the infection and now as of a moment ago a process of contacting people the patient has been in contact with and making sure they, where appropriate, are being tested and given the right advice. That process is already under way.

“Now in terms of the definition of what a contact is – it’s somebody within two metres of a patient for periods of 15 minutes or more.

“It’s not a case if you simply pass someone on the street and then you are at risk of catching an infection.”