Scotland's top medical official resigns after being caught breaking her own coronavirus lockdown advice
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A Scottish official who lectured the public on staying home during the coronavirus outbreak has now resigned after being cautioned by police for failing to adhere to her own advice.
Catherine Calderwood, the country’s chief medical officer, quit her post on Sunday – the same day a newspaper published photos of her and her family walking their dogs at their second home about an hour outside of Edinburgh. Scottish television had aired advertisements over the weekend with Calderwood saying, “To help save lives, stay at home.”
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“I am deeply sorry for my actions and the mistakes I have made,” Calderwood said in a statement Sunday evening, noting how the “justifiable focus on my behavior risks becoming a distraction from the hugely important job that government and the medical profession has to do in getting the country through this coronavirus pandemic.”
Scotland's Chief Medical Officer Catherine Calderwood, resigned from her post after being photographed traveling to her second home during the coronavirus outbreak. (Getty Images)
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“The most important thing to me now and over the next few very difficult months is that people across Scotland know what they need to do to reduce the spread of this virus and that means they must have complete trust in those who give them advice,” she continued. “It is with a heavy heart that I resign as Chief Medical Officer.”
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Prior to her resignation Sunday, Police Scotland had warned Calderwood about her actions.
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“The legal instructions on not leaving your home without a reasonable excuse apply to everyone,” Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said in a statement. “Individuals must not make personal exemptions bespoke to their own circumstances.”
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As of Monday, the United Kingdom has 47,806 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 4,934 deaths, according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University.
Fox News’ Peter Aitken contributed to this report.