Scotland has now spent a month with a Covid test positivity rate at 5% or below, which is within the threshold for determining if the spread is under control.
The country’s rate dipped down to 4.8% on February 23 and has stayed around that level since, even dropping as low as 2.5% on March 4 and 11.
Today’s figure is 3.6%, which is around the average for the last couple of weeks.
No new deaths with coronavirus have been recorded anywhere in the north and north-east, with a total of seven registered across Scotland in the past 24 hours.
There were, however, 28 new cases of the virus recorded in the NHS Grampian area, where 14 people are currently being treated in hospital with Covid.
Only six new cases were recorded by NHS Highland, which is the second-lowest daily total there in the past month.
There were 11 patients with Covid in NHS Highland hospitals yesterday, an increase of one from yesterday.
No new cases were reported in the Western Isles or Orkney, but there were five cases recorded on Shetland – the joint-highest daily increase there for two months.
Across Scotland, 341 people were in hospital with Covid yesterday, which is a decrease of 12 from the previous day, and 28 people were in intensive care – five fewer than the previous day.
The vaccination rollout continues to move forward, with more than 10,000 people in one day given their second dose in Scotland for the third time.
There were 10,575 second doses administered, while 32,272 people received their first dose in the last 24 hours.
That brings the total who have had their initial vaccination to 2,214,672 and those who have had their second to 235,671.
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