Situation in Scotland

Parts of Scotland where the coronavirus is less widespread could enjoy fewer restrictions than the rest of the country and England, the country's chief medical officer has said.

Although supporting a UK-wide approach now, Dr Catherine Calderwood said it may "not be appropriate to have all of the suppression measures in all of the country" later on.

Speaking at a press briefing alongside Nicola Sturgeon, she noted that Scotland is currently "behind" the situation in London and argued a "bespoke" response could be introduced.

Ms Sturgeon announced she has set up her own scientific advisory group to supplement the official advice given to the UK-wide Cobra meetings.

Dr Calderwood said this could be used "to apply our own Scottish data to some of these advisory measures", allowing for less stringent measures in some parts of the country.

On March 25, Clarence House confirmed the Prince of Wales had tested positive for coronavirus.

"He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual," the statement said. He came out of isolation on March 30.

Prince Charles' wife Camilla has not contracted the virus, tests have shown.

What is a coronavirus?

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause disease in animals. Seven, including the new virus, have made the jump to humans, but most just cause cold-like symptoms.

Two other coronaviruses – Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) – have killed more than 1,500 people between them since 2002.

The new virus, officially called Covid-19, is also dangerous - so far, around 20 per cent of confirmed cases have been classed as severe or critical. Around 15 to 20 per cent of hospital cases have been classed as "severe", and the current death rate varies between 0.7 per cent and 3.4 per cent depending on the location and, crucially, access to good hospital care.

This is much lower than fatality rates for Mers (30 per cent) and Sars (10 per cent), but still a significant threat.

Scientists in China believe that Covid-19 has mutated into two strains, one more aggressive than the other, which could make developing a vaccine more complicated.