The COVID infection rate in Perth and Kinross has risen above 250 per 100,000 after nearly doubling in a week.
The latest data from Public Health Scotland shows an infection rate of 254 per 100,000 people in the region up until Sunday, January 3.
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That is up from 130.1 on Sunday, December 27.
In the week up to January 3, 386 cases were recorded, compared with 198 the week before.
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The test positivity rate is nearly 11 per cent in the region.
The massive rise comes as the country battles to bring the virus under control.
A new strain of the pathogen is spreading more quickly, and the government has brought in a lockdown to try and curb the spread as it battles to vaccinate vulnerable members of the community.
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Six neighbourhoods in the region are recording over 400 cases per 100,000 people.
These are: Alyth, Auchterarder, Central and South Inch, Errol and Inchture, Gannochy and Walnut Grove, and Powmill, Cleish and Scotlandwell.
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Perthshire South and Kinross-shire MSP Roseanna Cunningham called on residents to obey the rules, and said people should not go looking for loopholes.
She said: "I know how difficult this further lockdown will be for everyone - but it is absolutely necessary to bring this killer virus under control.
“If the country does not act now then we risk the NHS being overwhelmed and even more people will die because of this virus.
“This is no theoretical risk – it is the desperate reality Scotland faces now and over the coming weeks.
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“That means everyone must play their part in a national fightback by sticking to both the letter and the spirit of the new rules.
"Please do not go looking for loopholes. Stay at home and don’t go out unless it is entirely necessary. And do not travel beyond the boundaries of Perth and Kinross if you are going out to exercise."
