covid-19 pandemic in scotland covid-19 pandemic in scotland the covid-19 pandemic in scotland is part of the covid-19 pandemic of coronavirus disease-2019, caused by the virus sars-cov-2. the first case of covid-19 was confirmed in scotland on 1 march 2020. community transmission was first reported on 11 march 2020, and the first confirmed death was on 13 march 2020. for the covid-19 pandemic in the uk as a whole, see covid-19 pandemic in the united kingdom. covid-19 pandemic in scotland(clockwise from top) south bridge in edinburgh west george street in glasgow john finnie street in kilmarnock diseasecovid-19virus strainsars-cov-2locationscotlandfirst outbreaknorthern italy (local)wuhan, hubei, china (global)index casetaysidearrival date19 february 2020confirmed cases217,127 (up to 28 march 2021)hospitalised cases264 (active, as of 28 march 2021)24,012 (total, up to 28 march 2021)critical cases22 (active, as of 28 march 2021)1,870 (total, up to 28 march 2021)recovered14,917 (total, up to 28 march 2021)deaths7,584 (deaths within 28 days of positive test, up to 28 march 2021)10,078 (deaths with covid-19 on the death certificate by date of death, up to 25 april 2021)fatality rate137.6 (death rate per 100,000 who died within 28 days of the first positive test)177.7 (death rate per 100,000 whose death certificate mentioned covid-19)government websitescottish government: coronavirus in scotlandpart of a series on thecovid-19 pandemicin the united kingdom, british overseas territories and crown dependencies history responses legislation statistics (part of the global covid-19 pandemic) locations london countries england scotland wales northern ireland crown dependencies guernsey isle of man jersey british overseas territories anguilla akrotiri and dhekelia bermuda british indian ocean territory british virgin islands cayman islands falkland islands gibraltar montserrat saint helena, ascension and tristan da cunha turks and caicos islands pitcairn islands british overseas territories without confirmed cases british antarctic territory south georgia and the south sandwich islands timelines united kingdom january-june 2020 july–december 2020 january-june 2021 july–december 2021 january-june 2022 july-december 2022 2023 england january-june 2020 july–december 2020 2021 2022 scotland 2020 2021 2022 wales 2020 2021 2022 northern ireland 2020 2021 2022 key topics healthcare vaccination temporary hospitals covid passports responses government response contract controversies lockdown public inquiry contact tracing military (domestic, overseas) impacts society economy education politics retail covid-19 portal category covid-19 became a notifiable disease in scotland on 22 february 2020. the first cases were detected in scotland in the following weeks. by 16 march and following the outbreak in italy, and based on forecasting by epidemiologists at imperial college london—the scottish government advised the public to avoid all "non-essential" travel and contact with others, and to remote work if possible. those with symptoms, and their household, were asked to self-isolate. pregnant women, the over 70s, and those with certain illnesses were asked to self-isolate for longer. on 20 march 2020, schools were told to close, along with pubs, cafes and cinemas. on 23 march 2020, a 'stay at home' order was announced; this would come to be referred to as the uk lockdown. covid-19 policies in scotland began to diverge with those elsewhere in the uk as the first lockdown was lifted starting in april 2020. the scottish government pursued a zero-covid strategy aiming to eliminate the virus entirely in 2020, lifted lockdown rules more gradually than the rest of the country, and expanded testing capacity. personal protective equipment supplies and guidance were major issues early in the outbreak. a four-tier restriction system that applied to different regions of scotland came into force later in 2020, and a lockdown applying to the whole country applied from early 2021 as the alpha variant spread from elsewhere in the uk. a vaccination programme began in december 2020. as many restrictions were lifted later in 2021, the delta variant and omicron variant have since posed further challenges and prompted responses in scotland. scottish healthcare service capacity was substantially reorganised in response to the outbreak and clinical studies into covid-19 have also taken place in the country. the pandemic has had major impact across scottish society. care homes and healthcare were directly affected by the spread of the disease. beyond that, it has caused major disruptions to education, law enforcement, and economic activities. background on 12 january, the world health organization (who) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in wuhan city, hubei province, china, who had initially come to the attention of the who on 31 december 2019. on 11 march 2020, the outbreak was declared a pandemic. unlike the sars outbreak of 2003, the case fatality ratio for covid-19 has been much lower, but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll. on 24 january, the first tests for covid-19 came back negative, with the then chief medical officer dr. catherine calderwood saying that the risk was low for the scottish public, although acknowledged that cases would arrive at some point. the first case was detected on 1 march and by 23 march, the country went into lockdown. timeline