Scotland records most daily Covid deaths in six months as more than 6,000 new cases are confirmed

Scotland has recorded 6,400 new cases of Covid on Thursday, as well as its highest daily increase in deaths for six months.

A further 17 deaths were announced, taking the country’s death toll to 8,144.

The increase in deaths is the most recorded in Scotland since March 1, when the government said 20 people had died from coronavirus.

It comes just a day after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced plans to roll out Covid vaccine passports as cases continue to rise.

Regional breakdown

NHS Grampian has recorded a further 344 cases in the last 24 hours – taking the region’s total number since the beginning of the pandemic to 28,274.

NHS Highland recorded 312 new positive cases, taking their total to 13,571 infections.

Health boards in the islands have also noted an increase in infections.

A total of 11 cases were recorded in the Western Isles, six in Shetland and two in Orkney.

The majority of cases in Scotland were recorded by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde with 1,790.

NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Lothian have also seen a surge in infections, with 1,127 cases and 1,090 cases recorded in their respective areas in the latest 24 hour period.

Read more:

• What next if infections and hospitalisations continue to rise?

• Track the vaccination roll-out progress with our interactive map

• Covid vaccine in Scotland: Track the rollout progress with these charts

Vaccination roll-out

A total of 2,709 people received the first dose of the Covid vaccine, taking the total to 4,111,513.

Meanwhile, 3,699,250 of Scotland’s adults are now fully vaccinated after 8,184 people received the second dose of their Covid-19 vaccine in the latest 24 hours.

Drop-in centres are being held each by health boards across the country as the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccines continues.