Admissions to hospital for coronavirus in the NHS Lothian region have seen a sharp rise in the previous two weeks.
In the previous fortnight, admissions to NHS Lothian hospitals in the region have jumped by 12, a trend which has not been seen in other health boards as overall hospitals admissions fall.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was asked about the increase at her daily briefing in Edinburgh.
On 31 July, the number of people in hospital in the region with confirmed COVID-19 dropped to 69, before increasing to 81 on 5 August.
The number of suspected cases has also continued to rise, increasing from 116 on 19 July to 18 on 21 July.
In comparison the number of cases in other health boards, including Greater Glasgow and Clyde, have either decreased or remained static.
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Addressing the increase the First Minister said the government were keeping a
"close eye" on all evidence including the number of hospital admissions in each area.
National clinical director Jason Leitch said he would look at NHS Lothian data, but that his 'immediate instinct' was that it might be older patients getting positive tests who had had a 'sicker journey' than might be expected amongst younger patients.
Recent outbreaks in Grampian have largely affected those aged under 60.
