Ayrshire has hit another unwanted milestone in the fight against coronavirus.
New data published this afternoon shows a further 51 cases of the disease have been recorded in the region in the last 24 hours.
That brings the total number of confirmed Ayrshire cases since the pandemic began last March to 16,000.
The latest cases are among 597 nationwide, according to figures released by the Scottish Government.
A further seven deaths have been recorded overnight, including one in the NHS Ayrshire & Arran health board region.
Scotland's death toll from the disease now stands at 7,517. However, 9,725 deaths have been registered where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate up to Sunday, March 7.
There are now 40 people battling the virus in Ayrshire hospitals with fewer than five Covid patients in intensive care.
Across Scotland there are 440 covid patients in hospital; 42 in ICU.
Scotland's vaccination programme is also closing in on a milestone.
A total of 1,943,507 people have received the first dose of the Covid vaccination while 170,892 have received their second dose.
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