Coronavirus Lothians: Number of confirmed cases rises to 208

There are now 208 positive cases in the Lothian region, compared with 188 yesterday.

The figures come as it was confirmed Scotland's largest exhibition centre will be turned into a field hospital during the coronavirus pandemic.

Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon made the announcement at a press conference today that the SEC in Glasgow will be transformed into a 'temporary NHS hospital' for patients suffering from Covid-19.

Ms Sturgeon said the site could be ready for use within two weeks and it would offer 300 additional beds for coronavirus patients But she claimed the building, opened in 1985, may not have to be used as 3,000 beds have been set aside by Scottish health boards to accommodate Covid-19 patients.

Scotland's death toll has reached 47, up six overnight - with 1,563 confirmed cases and 108 people in intensive care.

Ms Sturgeon said: "I can confirm following exploratory work over last week and the weekend we have now taken the decision to start work on turning the Scottish Exhibition Centre in Glasgow into a temporary NHS hospital.

"If needed, we expect that the hospital could become operational within a fortnight from now.

"Initially it would provide us with 300 additional beds, but ultimately it could have capacity for more than 1,000 patients.

"It is important to be clear that we might not need to use the exhibition centre.

"There are currently approximately 13,000 beds in NHS hospitals across Scotland and using those NHS boards are working to ensure 3,000 beds are available for Covid-19 patients within our existing hospital network."