One person in Aberdeen and two in Aberdeenshire are among the 16 people who have died with Covid in Scotland over the past 24 hours.
The number of people being treated in hospital with coronavirus in the north-east has been gradually declining in recent days, with 73 NHS Grampian patients yesterday compared to 96 less than a week ago.
Fewer than five people with Covid are in the intensive care unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary – figures below that level are not recorded by Public Health Scotland, so a more precise number is not available.
The latest statistics from the Scottish Government show the number of patients who have the virus in hospitals across the country is lower than it has been at almost any other point since August.
However, in NHS Highland hospitals there are 28 people being treated with Covid, up from 20 on December 3.
Regional breakdown
The Highland local authority area also recorded more new cases in the past 24 hours than either Aberdeen or Aberdeenshire, with 102.
There were 88 in Aberdeen, 78 in Aberdeenshire, 60 in Moray, seven in Shetland, two in Orkney and none recorded in the Western Isles.
One new case of the recently identified Omicron variant was reported in Scotland over the past day, in the NHS Grampian area.
The test positivity rate in the past day was 8%.