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.

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 other countries of the UK, 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 began to pose further challenges and prompted responses in Scotland. By 6 November 2021, six cases of the Omicron variant had been detected in Scotland. In response, the health secretary advocated for the population to "redouble our efforts to follow the basic rules that have served us well throughout the pandemic".

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 had a major impact across Scottish society. Care homes and healthcare were directly affected by the spread of the disease. Beyond that, it caused major disruptions to education, law enforcement and the economy.

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 was much lower, but the transmission rate was significantly higher, with a death toll to reflect that.

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 she 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

January–March 2020

24 January: Five people were tested for COVID-19 in Scotland, all returning negative as an incident team was established for the disease. 10 February: 57 tests had been conducted (all negatives), a figure which rose to 412 by 25 February. 22 February: COVID-19 was made into a "notifiable disease", and a surveillance network involving 41 GP locations was established to submit samples of suspected patients, even if they had no travel history. 26–27 February: Nike holds a conference in Edinburgh, which 70 people attend. Although Scottish residents at the conference contracted the virus a study by Glasgow University concluded it did not cause further spread across the country. 1 March: The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Scotland was detected in Tayside. The person had then recently travelled to Italy. At that time, since the outbreak began in Wuhan, there had been 698 tests resulting negative for the disease. 4 March: Two further cases were confirmed, one having travelled from Italy and the other having had contact with a known carrier. 5 March: Three further cases were confirmed, totalling to 5 cases 6 March: The number of confirmed cases double to 11. 9 March: Cases had more than doubled again to 23 cases out of 2,101 tests conducted. 11 March: First case of community transmission which wasn't linked to travel or confirmed cases. 13 March: The first death from COVID-19 in Scotland was confirmed, of an elderly patient with underlying health conditions. At the time, 85 cases of the disease had been confirmed out of 3,314 tests conducted. 16 March: 171 cases had been confirmed from 4,895 tests, with positive cases being reported by all health boards of NHS Scotland except in NHS Orkney and NHS Western Isles. 20 March: The Scottish Government told cafes, pubs, and restaurants to close.Beyond these 3 types of establishments, also told to close were: Nightclubs and other drinking establishments Cinemas, theatres and bingo halls and concert halls Spas, wellness centres and massage parlours Casinos and betting shops Indoor leisure facilities such as gyms and swimming pools 23 March: With the UK death toll hitting 335 deaths and 14 in Scotland, Boris Johnson announced a nationwide 'Stay at Home' order would come into effect as of midnight and it would be reviewed every 3 weeks. Former CMO Catherine Calderwood said, "This is no longer a rehearsal for something that might happen." This would become known as the UK lockdown. 24 March: 16 patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19 had died. 25 March: The First Minister confirmed that the Scottish Government was establishing a COVID-19 Advisory group to supplement the advice it was receiving from the UK-wide Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies. It was to be chaired by Professor Andrew Morris of Edinburgh University, the Director of Health Research UK, with support from vice chair David Crossman, who is the Dean of Medicine at the University of St Andrews and Chief Scientific Advisor for Health at the Scottish Government 26 March: It was announced that 25 deaths had been reported, with 896 confirmed cases in Scotland. 28 March: 3 Scottish woman set up Run For Heroes, a fundraising campaign that asked you to run 5k, donate £5 and nominate 5 others. The campaign went onto raise £7 million for NHS Charities COVID-19 Appeal and was the biggest viral fundraiser in the UK. 31 March: two cases in NHS Western Isles and one in NHS Orkney mean that COVID-19 cases have now been recorded in all of Scotland's health board areas.

April to June 2020

1 April: Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 passed 2000 across the country, with 76 deaths in hospitals. The Scottish Government announced 3,500 tests a day by the end of the month and construction started on the SEC in Glasgow to become NHS Louisa Jordan Hospital which would hold 300 beds, expandable to 1,000. 5 April: Despite initially saying she would stay in office, Scotland's chief medical officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood, resigned after making two trips to her second home, breaking the COVID-19 lockdown she and First Minister Sturgeon had encouraged. 6 April: The Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 which was introduced as an Emergency Bill in the Scottish Parliament on 31 March 2020 gained Royal Assent, becoming law. 7 April: The Scottish Government announced that 12,000 nursing and midwifery students from across the country and returning workers who had worked in the Health and Social Care sector had signed up to join the NHS workforce to help fight COVID-19, Chief Nursing Officer Fiona McQueen said, "I want to thank each and every student who has volunteered their support so far." In addition, 2,000 final year students had already joined the workforce since the call for help was sent out. 16 April: After reviewing the lockdown with all nations in the UK, the decision was made to extend it for another 3 weeks until the 7 May. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in her daily briefing said, ". . . I want to stress that the news is positive . . . Early indications are that the lockdown restrictions have resulted in a slowing down in the rate of community transmission of the virus." 20 April: NHS Louisa Jordan in Glasgow opened as confirmed cases passed 8,400 with 915 fatalities in hospitals. 22 April: The National Records of Scotland (NRS) released data up to 19 April. The number of deaths in Scotland was up 80% above the 5-year average. 537 deaths had been recorded in care homes, double the number of the previous week, 910 deaths had been recorded in hospitals, and 168 deaths in homes or other settings. Public Health Scotland's daily figures were under-counting deaths by up to 40%.Deaths in Scotland with COVID-19 mentioned as a cause: 910 in hospitals (57%) 537 in care homes (33%) 168 in homes and other settings (10%) as it was reporting deaths in hospitals only. 25 April: Confirmed cases surpassed 10,000. 27 April 2020: more than 22,000 former staff and students had volunteered to join or rejoin the healthcare and social care services in Scotland since the epidemic began, 28 April: First Minister Nicola Sturgeon advised the voluntary use of (non-medical grade) cloth face masks to be used in enclosed spaces such as shops and public transport, but not generally in public, excluding those who are under two years old or who have respiratory illnesses such as asthma. However, Sturgeon noted their limitation and said that co-operation with the face mask guidance was voluntary. 1 May: Confirmed cases of COVID-19 passed 11,500 across the country, with 1515 deaths in hospitals. The Scottish Government announced that it had reached its testing goal of 3,500 tests a day in NHS labs laid out in April with 4,661 tests carried out on 30 April. They also announced that their next target was 8,000 tests a day in NHS labs across Scotland by Mid-May. 8 May: First Minister Nicola Sturgeon reported that there was some recognition that each of the four nations of the UK might move at different speeds with regard to loosening the lockdown and that she would not be pressured into lifting restrictions prematurely. 9 May: The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) made 242 attendances for suspected COVID-19, and took 157 people to hospital with suspected COVID-19. By 9 May 2020 there had been 4,503 cumulative cases of suspected COVID-19 in care homes and up to 3,672 staff had reported as absent in adult care homes due to COVID-19, representing 8.5% of all adult care home staff (43,403) for whom figures had been provided. 10 May: Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled an exit strategy and an easing of the lockdown rules in England. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in her daily briefing criticised the government for their new slogan, 'Stay Alert, Control the Virus, Save Lives' saying it wasn't clear and she asked the UK Government not to promote their 'Stay Alert' advertising campaign in Scotland. Sturgeon eased exercising outside to more than once a day but the public would still have to maintain social distancing at all times. She also stressed leisure activities such as sunbathing, picnics and barbecues were still prohibited.