First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned that Scotland is about "four weeks behind the position in London and the south east" as the London Mayor has declared the pandemic a "major incident".
Sadiq Khan has declared coronavirus a "major incident" due to the immense the pressure being put on the city's hospitals.
Sadiq Khan said: "The situation in London is now critical with the spread of the virus out of control."
Similar major incidents include the terror attacks at Westminster Bridge and London Bridge and Grenfell Tower Fire in June 2017.
Speaking at her the lockdown announcement earlier this month, Nicola Sturgeon warned: "As things stand, we estimate that we are possibly about four weeks behind the position in London and the south east.
"The rapid acceleration in London began when it was at about 160 new cases a week, for every hundred thousand people. That’s the level Scotland was at a week ago.
"London is now seeing 900 new cases a week per 100,000. Test positivity is around 27%. And pressure on NHS services is acute.
"We have an opportunity in Scotland to avert the situation here deteriorating to that extent. But we must act quickly."
The news comes as further restrictions have been introduced, such as students being told not to return to university until the end of February.
Further restrictions are being considered, such as those on Click & Collect and takeaway services.
