Edinburgh has been placed on a Covid watchlist as researchers identify ‘hotspots’ in the UK.
Edinburgh is amongst 20 other local authorities in the UK, including East Dunbartonshire, North Ayrshire, Aberdeen and North Lanarkshire, to be added to the list.
According to the weekly Zoe Covid Symptom Study, Bolton, Leeds and Bedford are also on the list as the more transmittable Indian variant rips through the cities.
The news comes just days before the First Minister will announce if Scotland, as a whole country, will drop down into Level One.
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However, there are already doubts about the capital's chances, as Health Secretary Humaz Yousaf said that it may be the case that certain areas will remain in Level 2 next week.
Coronavirus cases are still rising in parts of Scotland with Covid ‘hotspots’ developing within the capital and Glasgow is currently the only area in Level 3.
The Zoe Covid Study found that, on average, one in 1,530 people in the UK currently have symptomatic coronavirus , with R rates of 1.0 in England, Wales and Scotland, the Mirror reports.
The local watchlist is based on weekly reports from thousands of app users in each area and the proportion of newly symptomatic users who have tested positive for Covid.
Zoe Covid Study watchlist
According to the Zoe Covid Study app, these are the 20 local authorities that have the highest estimates of prevalence rate over the week to May 23.
Tameside - 485 estimated cases per 100,000 people
Aberdeen City - 474
Bury - 434
Leeds - 381
Peterborough - 367
North Lanarkshire - 349
East Dunbartonshire - 303
Bolton -282
Redbridge - 273
North Ayrshire - 233
Manchester - 220
Kirklees - 209
Bedford - 205
Bradford - 203
Leicester - 173
Warwickshire - 154
North Lincolnshire - 140
City of Edinburgh - 132
Lancashire - 124
Hillingdon - 118
Tim Spector, a founder of the Zoe Covid Study app and professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, said: “The hotspots we’ve detected this week include Leicester, Bury and Bradford and we are still seeing higher numbers in Aberdeen, Kirklees and Bolton.
"Reassuringly, we aren’t seeing numbers rise in other surrounding areas.
"Our data also indicates vaccines are still effective against the Indian variant and this is likely the reason why cases haven’t increased and hospitalisation and deaths remain low.
"Also important to remind ourselves that our national rates are still amongst the lowest in Europe, despite other countries travel restrictions ”
Researchers found that 89 app users had received two doses of the vaccine but still tested positive for coronavirus, while another 100 tested positive after getting one dose.
This study suggests that the estimated risk of Covid infection in unvaccinated Brits is one in 17,104.
The researchers have also said that the estimated risk of contracting the virus after one dose is one in 32,196 and one in 68,417 for those who have had two doses.
While Edinburgh has been criticised for their slow vaccine rollout, Scotland hit a milestone with over 2 million Scots being fully vaccinated against Covid.
However, Edinburgh has seen local hotspots develop in Davidson’s Mains and Silverknowes.
Sturgeon will announce if Glasgow will join the rest of the mainland in Level Two and if Edinburgh is set for Level One, no later than Wednesday afternoon.
