REGIONAL BREAKDOWN: 123 new Covid-19 cases recorded in Scotland in past 24 hours – including seven in north and north-east

A further seven people have been diagnosed with coronavirus in the north and north-east in the past 24 hours.

The latest update from the Scottish Government shows there have been 123 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 across the country since Saturday – this is 0.7% of newly tested individuals.

A total of 251 people are in hospital with a confirmed case of the virus and five people are in intensive care.

Since the  beginning of the outbreak in March, a total of 548,290 people in Scotland have been tested.

Of these people, 20,318 were positive and 527,972 were confirmed negative.

Since March 5, 4,233 inpatients who tested positive for Covid-19 have been discharged from hospital.

There have been no deaths linked to coronavirus recorded in the past 24 hours.

A regional breakdown of the data shows there have been six new cases in the Grampian area, taking the total to 1,933. There are currently 20 people in hospital in the north-east after testing positive for the virus.

The total for the Highland region has risen to 408 after one person tested positive since Saturday.

There have been no new cases in the islands. The totals for Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles remain at 16, 56 and 7 respectively.

On Saturday, Scotland recorded 88 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, the highest daily rise in the past week at that point.

Despite the rise in cases, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said there is “no need for alarm”.

On Twitter, the First Minister said that the rise in cases is due to an increase in testing, and the proportion of people tested returning positive results remains below 1%.

“The increase in cases just now partly reflects a greater volume of testing. Crucially, our positivity rate remains low (below 1% again today). So no need for alarm. But there is a need to be very careful & cautious – it is all very delicately balanced just now,” she said.

“Scientists puzzled that rapid rise in cases in many parts of world not (yet) matched by rise in hospital/ICU admissions/deaths.

“Many theories but nothing definitive & it could just be timelag. & rise in ICU numbers here today from 3 to 5 another reminder not to be complacent.

“Hard reality is this – #COVID is still out there, still highly infectious and still potentially lethal. We take our eye off the ball, or tell ourselves it’s all over, at our peril. Ahead of winter, we must be vigilant and careful. Please follow all the #FACTS advice.”