Four per cent of cases would require hospital treatment, officials said. This could overrun hospitals

Four out of five people in Scotland could catch coronavirus if the outbreak becomes an epidemic, the chief medical officer has said.

The Scottish government is expecting a “significant outbreak” to infect between 50 per cent and 80 per cent of the population.

Catherine Calderwood, the chief medical officer, said that most people would have few or no symptoms and that only 4 per cent would require hospital treatment. This would overrun hospitals with more than 200,000 patients in the worst scenario.

Scotland’s first case of the virus, known as Covid-19, was confirmed in Tayside on Sunday. The health authorities are trying to trace anyone who has had prolonged face-to-face contact with the infected person.

Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, said that the patient was