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Scottish government criticised for 'absolutely terrifying' advert showing how coronavirus spreads

The advert attempts to show how quickly the virus is passed on. (Scottish Government)
The advert attempts to show how quickly the virus is passed on. (Scottish Government)

The Scottish government has been criticised over an “absolutely terrifying” advert showing how quickly coronavirus spreads.

The ad, uploaded to the Scottish government’s website, shows a woman interacting with her grandfather after a night out.

She can be seen transmitting the virus to him with a hug and leaving traces of it on numerous surfaces.

The virus is represented by a green slime which starts on the woman’s face but ends up covering the cupboards kettle, milk bottle and even the tea bags.

It ends with a strapline reading: "Don't pass coronavirus to those you love."

Soon after it was aired, the advert was criticised for its shocking depiction of the way the disease spreads.

Read more: Sturgeon's coronavirus warning to Scotland as number of people in hospital increases

Psychologist Dr Keri Nixon told Sky News the ad would cause children to be “absolutely terrified”.

"I was quite frankly horrified when I saw that advert,” Nixon said,

"The music and message of don't infect your grandparents, there will be children watching that who will be absolutely terrified at touching their grandparents.

"Just imagine if a child had a grandparent who they were hugging and then a few days later that grandparent died.

"Whether that is COVID-19-related illness or not, they will live with that forever."

The total number of people to have died in Scotland within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus now stands at 2,530.

While the total number of positive tests recorded in Scotland since March is now 31,451.

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