Nicola Sturgeon has said it is too early for planning an "end game" for lifting coronavirus lockdown measures and returning society to normal.
The First Minister said there is not enough evidence at this stage to set out a strategy to lift social isolation measures without risking "disastrous effects in terms of the virus spreading".
Speaking at the Scottish Government' s daily briefing about coronavirus, national clinical director Jason Leitch added that the decisions would be made when the country reaches the "downward curve" of Covid-19 cases and deaths.
Sturgeon said that she wanted the country to return to normal as soon as possible, but would not allow "impatience" at the lockdown "to do the damage that we've been trying to prevent".
Asked if the Government had formulated a plan to left the current restrictions, Sturgeon said: "For me to stand up here today and say: 'here's the exit strategy', would not be acting responsibly because I don't have the data, the evidence or the advice yet that would allow me to say with confidence: 'we can come out of where we are now by doing X, Y and Z, in this particular order', and be confident that wouldn't have disastrous effects in terms of the virus spreading."
She added: "Next week there is likely to be another Cobra meeting to start looking at this, but we've got to get the timing of this right because the consequences of not would be absolutely devastating."
"These are horrendously difficult challenges for everybody who is advising governments and for governments everywhere," she said, pledging to "give as much clarity as I possibly can to the public about what we're asking them to do know, and why we're asking you to do it.
"Because it's by complying with these rules now that we do give ourselves the best chance of getting out of this quicker."
Explaining the Government's considerations, Professor Leitch said: "We're trying to balance three things now - and on the way out.
"We're trying to balance harm from the coronavirus, harm if the health service gets overwhelmed and harm from the lockdown.
"These three harms are all mixed together, so the judgment is really challenging both for the advisers, and for the decision-makers."
He added that suppressing the harm from Covid-19 spreading was "the most acute challenge right now", but that the Government's priorities were likely to change as the outbreak develops.
