Scotland's chief medical officer apologises for ignoring her own guidance
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SCOTLAND'S chief medical officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood, has apologised unreservedly for ignoring her own advice for people to stay at home to halt the spread of coronavirus.
She has admitted she visited her holiday home in Fife two weekends in a row with her family.
Police Scotland has spoken to the chief medical officer and warned her about her actions.
The revelations appeared in the Scottish Sun on Sunday and the chief medical officer appeared alongside the First Minister at a press conference on Sunday afternoon.
Dr Calderwood said she had made a mistake and could not justify her actions.
"I know how important the advice is that I have issued," she said.
"This was a mistake, human error, and there are no excuses. My intention is to continue to focus on my job."
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she could not condone what the chief medical officer had done and she was wrong to have travelled to her second home.
However, Ms Sturgeon insisted that, taking into account the bigger picture, she had found the advice of Dr Calderwood invaluable and needed to lean on her professional advice in tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
The advice from the Scottish Government has been for people to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives. People are advised against all travel unless it is absolutely essential.
Dr Calderwood admitted she had not followed her own advice and she was sorry for that.
Meanwhile, the UK health secretary Matt Hancock, who was diagnosed with Covid-19 and has subsequently recovered, said the right to exercise outside once a day could be removed from people if they continue to flout the social distancing regulations.
The First Minister revealed that another two people had died in Scotland, taking the death toll to 220.
In the UK the death toll rose by 621 in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 4934.
Queen Elizabeth is set to address the nation tonight at 8pm.
