COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland

This article may be excessively based on contemporary reporting. Please use newer secondary sources; articles on events that lack lasting impact may be merged, redirected, or deleted. (October 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: information on 2021 developments missing from lead; information missing on Omicron response. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (January 2022)

COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland
(clockwise from top) South Bridge in Edinburgh West George Street in Glasgow John Finnie Street in Kilmarnock
Disease	COVID-19
Virus strain	SARS-CoV-2
Location	Scotland
First outbreak	Northern Italy (local)[1] Wuhan, Hubei, China (global)
Index case	Tayside
Arrival date	19 February 2020[2]
Confirmed cases	217,127[3][4][5] (up to 28 March 2021)
Hospitalised cases	264 (active, as of 28 March 2021) 24,012 (total, up to 28 March 2021)
Critical cases	22 (active, as of 28 March 2021) 1,870 (total, up to 28 March 2021)
Recovered	14,917 (total, up to 28 March 2021)[6]
Deaths	7,584 (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 rate	137.6 (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 website
Scottish Government: Coronavirus in Scotland

Part of a series on the
COVID-19 pandemic in 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 2024 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
v t e

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.^[1] Community transmission was first reported on 11 March 2020, and the first confirmed death was on 13 March 2020.

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,^[7][8] and based on forecasting by epidemiologists at Imperial College London^[9]—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.^[7] 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.^[10]

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.^[11][12] 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^[13] 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.