The Scottish Government is in a race against time to trace anyone who may have came into contact with the country's first confirmed case of coronavirus.

We told last night how the patient, from Tayside, was diagnosed with COVID-19 after returning from a trip to Italy.

Following a positive test result for the virus, they were admitted to hospital and are currently receiving treatment in isolation.

Now, medics are scrambling to find anyone who may have came into contact with the patient to avoid further spread.

READ MORE: Coronavirus in Scotland: LIVE updates as Glasgow steps up testing amid COVID-19 outbreak fears

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that anyone who came within two metres of a patient for periods of 15 minutes or more are to be tested.

She also warned that we could be faced with a "significant outbreak", but stressed that the Scottish Government has been planning for a case for some time.

She told STV News that the confirmed case was "not unexpected", adding: "We have been preparing for this and indeed are preparing for the likelihood we’ll see further cases confirmed in coming days and weeks.

“In terms of the management of this case, contact tracing – identifying and giving appropriate advice and when appropriate testing with people who have been in contact with this patient is underway and well established procedures are being followed.

“The Scottish Government had been planning for this and is planning for what could be a significant outbreak of coronavirus and will continue to take all necessary preparations."

Glasgow Times:

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She added: “Obviously for reasons of patient confidentiality there will be a limit to the amount of information about the patient. We do know the patient recently returned from travel to Italy.

“Now in terms of the definition of what a contact is – it’s somebody within two metres of a patient for periods of 15 minutes or more.

“It’s not a case if you simply pass someone on the street and then you are at risk of catching an infection.”

Last night Ms Sturgeon chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government Resilience Committee (SGoRR)  and today will join the UK Government's COBRA meeting chaired by the Prime Minister.

There have been a total of 698 negative test results in Scotland since the start of the outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.

Scotland’s chief medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood yesterday added: “Scotland is well equipped to deal with infections of this kind.

"We have a proven track record of dealing with challenging health issues, and have been preparing for this possibility since the beginning of the outbreak in Wuhan."