A further 17,259 covid-19 cases have been recorded in Scotland amid the spread of the Omicron variant of the virus.
This Tuesday afternoon the Scottish Government confirmed a test positivity rate of 35.3%
Meanwhile, figures show that as of yesterday 1,147 people were in hospital with recently confirmed covid-19, an increase of 116 on the previous day's number, while 42 people are in ICU with the virus, an increase of 4.
Once more, The Scottish Government say there have been delays in results being reported due to a high volume of tests, and that today's figure has also been impacted by the holiday weekend.
A summary of statistics published by the government shows:
- 17,259 new cases of COVID-19 reported*
- 56,290 new tests for COVID-19 that reported results*
- 35.3% of these were positive
- 42 people were in intensive care yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19
- 1,147 people were in hospital yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19
- 4,384,343 people have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination, 4,022,821 have received their second dose, and 3,006,133 have received a third dose or booster
*There continues to be large volumes of tests being processed by labs. This and the holiday weekend have impacted turnaround times resulting in delays between specimens being taken and results being received and reported. Public Health Scotland are continuing to monitor the situation.
Earlier today we reported Scotland's covid rules could change which would see the self-isolation period cut from 10 to seven days.
Nicola Sturgeon is due to provide an update on the situation during a virtual session in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday.
As it stands, Scotland is the only country in the UK where people are required to isolate for 10 days, however the First Minister may make a move to reduce this timescale tomorrow, the Daily Record reports.
The Scottish Government has faced strong calls from the Tories to slash the rules in order to ease the pressure on the NHS workforce across the country, with staff absences affecting a number of key services.
Scores of NHS staff are off work due to catching the virus or having to remain at home after coming into contact with someone who contracted covid, while bus and train timetables have been reduced to cope with the staff shortages.
For the latest covid stats in full you can visit the Scottish Government website here.
