Scotland sees slight increase in Covid cases

Covid infections in Scotland are thought to have risen slightly despite continuing to fall elsewhere in the UK.

A total of 135,000 people in Scotland were estimated to have the virus last week - one in every 40 people - by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This was an increase from an estimated 122,200 people, or one in 45, the previous week.

It was also the highest rate of any of the four UK nations.

In England, infections have fallen for the seventh week in a row, with 874,400 people estimated to have had the virus last week, the equivalent of about one in 60.

This was down from one in 55 the previous week.

Wales has seen infections drop for the sixth week in a row, from an estimated one in 40 to one in 55.

The virus continues to be least prevalent in Northern Ireland, where infections are now at their lowest level since mid-October 2021 at one in 80.

Despite the slight uptick in cases in Scotland, public health expert Prof Linda Bauld said fewer than 50 people were currently being admitted to the hospital with the virus every day - the lowest level since last summer.

The latest Scottish government figures showed that on Friday there were eight patients in intensive case units, and a total of 644 patients being treated for Covid in Scottish hospitals.

There were more than 2,000 people in hospital with the virus last month.

The Omicron variant, which spread aggressively during the winter, caused a surge in cases across Scotland earlier this year.