Scotland’s chief medical officer has said a positive case of coronavirus in the country is “highly likely” in the coming days.

As of Thursday, 16 people are known to have had negative tests north of the border for the virus.

Most of them were quarantined through self-isolation at home, although those with more serious conditions were taken to hospital.

A meeting was held on Wednesday, chaired by the First Minister, to discuss the spread of the virus and Scotland’s preparations for a contamination.

Chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood said on Thursday: “It is highly likely we’ll have a positive case of coronavirus in Scotland in the coming days.

“The public can be assured that Scotland has well-established plans and is well prepared for these types of outbreak.

“We have a proven track record of dealing with challenging health issues and have established public health and infectious disease experts working round the clock.

“We have also activated our emergency resilience operation.”

It comes after Professor Yvonne Doyle, medical director and director of health protection for Public Health England, said the first UK case is likely to come from someone already in the country.

As of Thursday, a total of 161 tests had been carried out on people across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – all with negative results.

The UK Government said the risk to the population remains low.

A plan is in place for dealing with a confirmed case, as is usual for any virus outbreak.

There is also legislation already in place to impose restrictions on someone’s movement under public health law if deemed necessary.

Anyone who believes they are showing symptoms for the virus is urged to contact NHS 24.

All tests are currently being carried out a single UK facility, although it is expected this will soon be rolled out to sites in Scotland.

The waiting time to return results is currently between 24 and 48 hours.

Meanwhile, the UK Government is currently negotiating with Chinese authorities on plans to fly out around 200 British citizens who have been in Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei province.

There are no direct flights from China to Scotland.