I am instructing NHS Scotland and health boards to do all that is necessary and any subordinate legislation to allow this will be brought before parliament, Ms Freeman says.

Our plan is to double intensive care beds and we have ordered a further 350 new standard concentrators, she adds.

The health secretary says a plan is also in place to increase the number of hospital beds by 3,000.

Non-urgent elective operations will be suspended to help this and patients will remain on waiting lists until clinically appropriate.

Urgent care will continue, she adds, and cancer treatment will continue.

Ms Freeman says her thoughts are with the families of two people who have died.

The health secretary adds: "Our goal is simple: to protect and save lives and we need everyone's help to achieve this."

This will require a swift and radical change to the way we run the NHS, she says.

Ms Freeman announces she is formally placing our NHS on an emergency footing for at least the next three months.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman praises the NHS workforce for all the work they have done so far and for the work they are prepared to do.

"They truly are the best of us," she adds.

We can all play our part to help them, she states.

As of this morning there were officially 195 positive cases of coronavirus though the true figure will be much higher, the health secretary says.

Ms Freeman also confirms, "regretfully", there have now been two deaths of people with Covid-19.

Ms Sturgeon recognises the response from government must be unprecedented and says the coming months will be immensely difficult.

The first minister says the steps recommended really matter and by following them we will all be helping to save lives.

We will need a collective national endeavour to meet this challenge, she adds.

The first minister calls for compassion and kindness from everyone and for people to offer help where they can.

"We can, and we will, get through this."

We are not proposing the blanket closures of schools yet because the negative consequence of this on the wellbeing of our children and on the NHS workforce outweigh the benefits, the first minister says.

She adds that this is under daily review, adding "the protection of children will always be our priority".

On business impacts, Ms Sturgeon accepts there will be an economic emergency and governments are considering what more can be done.

More information will be forthcoming in the coming days on support for those put in financial difficulty.

Ms Sturgeon says the steps announced yesterday represent a change from life as we know it:

• if one person in any household has a persistent cough or fever, everyone living there must stay at home for 14 days
• everyone to minimise social contact as much as possible
• everyone to avoid pubs, public transport and work from home
• this applies strongly for those over 75's, those with an underlying health condition and who require the flu virus and pregnant women

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon begins: "Scotland today, like countries across the world, faces an unprecedented challenge."

She says addressing it will involve the biggest peacetime effort in our lifetime.

We are now on the cusp of rapid escalation, meaning we must take far more stringent steps to save lives, she adds.

A second death of a person with Covid-19 in Scotland has been confirmed.

The person is described as an elderly patient with underlying health conditions.

195 people have now tested positive for the coronavirus in Scotland, from a total of 5,146 tests.

The Church of Scotland has decided to cancel this year’s General Assembly due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It was due to open on 16 May.

Principal Clerk, Rev Dr George Whyte said, “We did not take this decision lightly but in the current circumstances it was the only choice we could make."

The Assembly would have brought almost 1,000people to a week-long meeting in Edinburgh including visitors from overseas and from other churches.

The Kirk said t would find alternative ways to make urgent decisions.

The new Moderator, the Rev Dr Martin Fair, will take up his duties in May.

Image source, Getty Images

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Health Secretary Jeane Freeman will shortly update MSPs on the latest on the coronavirus outbreak in Scotland.

Here are the guidelines Scotland’s National Clinical Director Prof Leitch outlined earlier:

1. Those with symptoms - a new persistent cough or a fever - Your whole household has to stay at home for 14 days. If you live alone it is seven days. If somebody in the household gets it, the seven days must happen for them too.
2. The "very" high risk people - people having chemotherapy etc - they will be contacted directly by the NHS.
3. The over-70s, pregnant women, and people who get the flu vaccine - Be very serious about social contact. Do not go to work, do not travel on public transport.
4. Everybody else - Limit social contact as much as you can. You can still work but we are asking as many as possible work from home. Don't use public transport unless you have to. Don't meet in big groups or socially in small groups in pubs, restaurants etc. "The virus seems to give us more danger in the smaller groups," Prof Leitch says. "That does not mean you cannot visit your mum and dad," he says. "You can as long as you are symptom free".

The coronavirus outbreak will have an impact on employment figures, the Scottish government has warned.

The latest official figures show a 31,000 rise in the number of people in work but they cover the period from November to January.

This was before the coronavirus pandemic hit the UK.

Image source, Getty Images

All horse racing in Great Britain will be suspended from Wednesday until the end of April because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Laura Pettigrew
BBC Scotland news website

At Silverburn shopping centre on the outskirts of Glasgow, I had the usual struggle to find a parking place close to the main entrances.

With a Tesco at one end and an M&S at the other, it could be expected to be busy with people buying food and essentials, but there’s also a steady stream of shoppers through the main retail area.

All the shops are open, and while they do look fairly quiet inside people are definitely still buying clothes, shoes, make-up etc.

There’s grandparents pushing buggies, mothers and daughters arm-in-arm and friends greeting each other with hugs.

At the end where most of the food outlets sit it’s quieter than normal - just one table occupied in Pizza Hut.

But while there’s not perhaps the usual lunchtime rush, other restaurants and coffee shops do have customers - eating and drinking as usual.

Some changes are noticeable though - I passed three separate cleaners with trolleys on my walk through the centre and the security guards are all wearing rubber gloves. In the shops, staff rub their hands with sanitiser and are furiously wiping down surfaces.