Daily Covid cases in Scotland surpass 4000 in a day – for first time ever
Scotland has reported a record number of daily Covid cases for the third time this week, as cases surpassed the 4000 mark for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
4234 people registered positive Covid test results in the last 24 hours, according to the latest Scottish government figures published on Thursday.
The case rate was up 347 on the previous day, when a new record of 3,887 cases was reported. On Monday, the first record of the week was broken when 3,285 daily positive cases were logged.
This week’s figures are unprecedented for Scotland during the pandemic. Before the highs of this week, the last record was set during the winter coronavirus peak on January 7, when 2,649 cases were reported.
The Scottish government tweeted a video on Monday to coincide with the first record number of cases reported, in which the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged caution, attributing the “steep rise” in cases to the Delta variant.
“The good news is that as vaccines are providing significant protection, we’re not at this stage seeing a commensurate rise in the number of people in hospital or becoming seriously ill from this virus. But it’s important that we are not complacent,” Sturgeon said.
Although the case rate is high, the ratio of deaths to cases is low, echoing Sturgeon’s comments. Only six Covid deaths were reported during the last 24 hours, three were reported on Wednesday, and no new deaths were reported on Monday.
275 people were in hospital on June 30 in Scotland with recently confirmed Covid-19, and 16 of these were in intensive care.
85 per cent of adults in Scotland have now received their first dose of the Covid vaccine and 61 per cent have received their second dose, according to the latest government data.