The number of people fighting coronavirus in Ayrshire hospitals is the highest it's been since February 2021.
Patient numbers battling Covid has rocketed amidst an incredible surge of infections across the country in recent weeks.
Information released today shows 213 people are in NHS Ayrshire & Arran hospitals with the virus.
At the height of the second wave in February last year, Covid hospital numbers peaked at 243 in Ayrshire — the highest of the entire pandemic.
Ayrshire has recorded just shy of 4,500 new positive cases in the last seven days with 449 of those in the past 24 hours.
Ayrshire's case rate over the past week per 100,00 people is currently the highest in Scotland (1216.6).
However the number of people with the disease in the region's ICU units remains below five.
A total of 5,364 new cases have been recorded across Scotland in the past 24 hours.
The stark rise comes days after hospital chiefs urged patients to "stop and think" before turning up at Ayrshire's packed emergency units.
Bosses admitted their services are under pressure in the region due to staff absences, high demand, delayed discharges and patients staying longer in hospital.
It was also announced that Covid test sites are to close as the NHS moves to a more 'targeted approach' to testing in Ayrshire.
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