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An eleventh person who had been diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK has died.

Scotland confirmed the first death in the country of a patient with Covid-19 this afternoon.

Scotland's chief medical officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood said: “I am saddened to report that a patient in Scotland who has tested positive for Coronavirus has died in hospital.

"I offer my deepest sympathy to their friends and family at this difficult time.”

She said the patient had been being treated by Lothian Health Board.

They were described as an older person who had had pre-existing health conditions.

“No further information will be available to protect patient confidentiality,” Dr Calderwood added.

It comes after the confirmed UK figure reached 798. Though it has been suggested that the true figure for people with coronavirus in the UK is between 5,000 and 10,000.

By Friday morning, 31,971 people had been tested for Covid-19. Of those, 31,173 tested negative.

It marked the first time the day-on-day increase has been higher than 200 in the UK.

One week ago, on March 6, the total number of cases stood at 163 and today’s total of 798 is almost five times greater than the equivalent figure one week ago.

Earlier, the UK’s chief scientific adviser said it is hoped the Government’s approach to tackling coronavirus will create a “herd immunity” to the disease.

This page is being updated.