First coronavirus case in Scotland, Johnson calls emergency meeting
5982 Mins Read
Thirteen new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the UK – including the first one in Scotland.
It is the biggest jump in COVID-19 cases the UK has seen in one day – and means all four home nations have now been affected.
The Scottish patient, who is receiving treatment after being placed in isolation, is a resident of the Tayside area and has recently returned from Italy.
The other 12 cases are in England – including a “family cluster”.
Three of the new patients caught coronavirus in England from a man in Surrey who tested positive on Friday.
Health officials are still trying to find out how the original Surrey patient caught the illness in the UK without having travelled abroad.
The eight other new cases in England are believed to have caught the virus abroad:
One is from London
One is from Bury in Greater Manchester and had been to Italy
One is from Gloucestershire
Three are from West Yorkshire: one from Bradford who had been to Italy and two from Leeds who have visited Iran
Two are from Hertfordshire
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to chair a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee later, after the number of UK coronavirus cases jumped to 36.
Senior ministers and health advisers will be told that the virus will present a “significant challenge”.
But the prime minister will say the government and NHS are well-prepared and will “stop at nothing” to fight it.
The official government plan on how to tackle the spread of the virus will be finalised and signed off at the talks.
