Only 4.3% of Scotland has coronavirus antibodies, according to new data

Less than 5% of Scotland's population has coronavirus antibodies, according to the latest analysis from the Scottish Government.

New data from Public Health Scotland shows that around 4751 samples of blood were submitted to Public Health Scotland for surveillance. The work estimates that the proportion of people across Scotland that have positive antibodies is only around 4.3 per cent.

According to the Scottish Government's first published "enhanced surveillance", specific coronavirus antibodies remain in the blood for several weeks after infection.

Speaking at today's Covid-19 daily briefing, interim Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nicola Steedman said: "Only a fairly small proportion of the population have so far likely been exposed to coronavirus in Scotland.

"And it's this low number of people exposed that explains and reinforces our ongoing messages to you."

She explained the small proportion of people that have antibodies was the reason behind the Government's advice on physical distancing and their cautious approach.

Dr Steedman said: "Firstly, we need to be careful when we're easing out of lockdown and secondly this is why we still want you to follow the current guidance on physical distancing and all the other measures that we recommend in order to protect you, your loved ones and, in fact, to protect all of us."

Dr Steedman added that the research used anonymous data from GPs across the country, which allowed them to "scale up" the findings.

She added that data privacy "was a priority for all of us", saying the public should be reassured that data used was only for the most important research projects.