A Scottish Government adviser has claimed the country could be free of coronavirus by the end of the summer.
Professor Devi Sridhar said July is a “crucial” month and suggested Scotland is on track to eliminate the disease.
Although the number of worldwide cases has exceeded 10 million, it was announced on Saturday there had been no confirmed deaths for the second consecutive day.
However, the picture is different in other parts of the UK and a lockdown could be imposed to tackle an outbreak in Leicester.
Speaking to the BBC, Professor Sridhar, who advises the Government on covid-19, said:
"If Scotland was an island - like New Zealand - I would say going for zero cases would be completely feasible."
She added: "I think Scotland is on track to eliminate coronavirus by the end of the summer by looking at the rate of the decrease [in new cases].
"But we are going to see little bumps, so it's a question of how small can you keep those bumps."
She continued: "July is a crucial month for people to follow the rules and guidance, and be sensible because the virus is still around and can still increase quite fast within days and weeks."
A Scottish Government source downplayed reports of imposing a quarantine policy on people from England.
However, Sridhar said of the prospect of different parts of the UK pursuing their own strategies:
“I think the next best thing is to look across the world at Australia, Germany, US, and look at the policies they’ve put in place for states which have high incidence - Texas, Florida and Arizona - and those with low incidence like New York and Connecticut and trying to find ways whether it’s quarantine or other checks to make sure when there are clear differences in incidence you make sure you’re catching those cases with screening, quarantine, testing.”
Meanwhile, it was reported that the UK Government is considering locking down Leicester due to 658 new cases in the two weeks to June 16.
It was claimed Leicester's rise in cases follows an outbreak in food production plants and reports of large crowds gathering outside takeaway restaurants.
