The total number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in the north and north-east of Scotland has risen by 26.
Confirmed cases has risen to 771 from 748 in Grampian while the Highlands has recorded another three cases in the past 24 hours, bringing its total to 228.
Currently there are 138 people in hospital across the region, an increase of 50 since yesterday.
Nine people remain in intensive care.
The islands have recorded no new cases since Saturday. There have been 54 positive results in Shetland, six in the Western Isles and seven on Orkney.
As of today, 50,294 have been tested for the virus in Scotland with 10,521 cases confirmed positive. Covid-19 has claimed the lives of 1,262 patients since the outbreak started.
As of 2pm today, 50,294 people in Scotland have been tested for #coronavirus
39,773 confirmed negative
10,521 positive1,262 who tested positive have sadly died.
Latest update ➡️ https://t.co/kZjGNz2EDe
Health advice ➡️ https://t.co/l7rqArB6Qu #COVIDー19 pic.twitter.com/WEyVcjVQVF— Scottish Government (@scotgov) April 27, 2020
The figures published on the Scottish Government’s website confirmed 1,762 patients are in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, an increase of 26 the previous day.
Of these, 134 were in intensive care as of last night.
Progression
Speaking at the Scottish Government’s coronavirus briefing, Nicola Sturgeon said there were “real signs of progress” in the daily statistics of those affected by Covid-19.
The First Minister added that the number of people in intensive care in Scotland has dropped by “around a third” in the last two weeks, along with the number of people being treated in hospital remaining stable.
Despite the progress Ms Sturgeon outlined that it was still too early to lift lockdown measures and that easing social distancing measures could see the rates of infection rise, countering the progress that has already been made.
She said: “This progress remains very fragile and now is a time for all of us to exercise careful caution.
“It’s certainly not the time to throw caution to the wind.”
She added: “For all of our sakes, and to protect the progress that together we have made, all of the measures that are currently in place need to remain in place for now.
“The job is not done yet. We need you to stay the course.”
The First Minister also urged business owners not to re-open their firms if they cannot adhere to the social distancing measures put in place by the Government, saying a further increase could hit the economy and individual companies harder than remaining in lockdown.