A further 2,244 cases of Covid have been reported Scotland in the last 24 hours, the Scottish Government’s figures show.
Earlier today, the government confirmed six cases of the new variant, Omicron had been detected in the Greater Glasgow and Lanarkshire areas – with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warning the outbreak could become the most “challenging situation” facing Scotland in recent months.
However Ms Sturgeon said none of those infected were in hospital.
The latest stats that there are however, 715 people in hospital with other variants of the virus and a further 52 people in intensive care.
There have been no deaths reported due to the virus in the past 24 hours.
Ms Sturgeon said: “The days and weeks ahead will tell all of us much more about this variant and therefore its implications, if there are any implications for our response to the pandemic.
“What we do know at this stage though, in my view, is that we should treat it seriously and that we should continue to act on a precautionary basis at this stage.”
Regional breakdown
NHS Grampian accounts for 175 of new cases, with Aberdeen City recording 76 cases of Covid.
Aberdeenshire reported 55 new cases, meanwhile, Moray recorded 44 cases.
Moray was recently pinpointed as one of the current coronavirus hotspots in the country, after the area had a seven-day rate of 473.3 cases per 100,000 people.
However, the latest statistics now show that this seven-day rate has decreased by 69.3, to 404 cases per 100,000. This now means that Moray has the third-highest seven-day average.
There are 90 people in NHS Grampian hospitals with the virus and a further 11 people in intensive care units.
NHS Highland recorded 90 new cases of the virus. There are currently 25 people in hospital across the area with the virus and a further.
Meanwhile, the Western Isles had three cases of the virus, Shetland had only one new case and Orkney had none.
Vaccine roll-out
As for the vaccine roll-out, 4,345,855 people have received their first dose of a vaccine and 3,948,483 have received their second dose.
Additionally, 1,659,464 have received a third dose or booster jab.