There are now nine areas of Scotland with confirmed cases of the new Omicron Covid variant, according to the latest figures.
Fears are growing over the impact that Omicron could have on Scotland’s fight against the Covid pandemic.
On Friday, Nicola Sturgeon warned that the country could be hit with a ‘tsunami of Covid infection’ with the number of Omicron cases said to be doubling every two to three days.
It is anticipated that the variant could become the dominant strain in Scotland over the coming days.
Global scientists are still trying to learn more about the variant, which was first reported by health officials in South Africa last month.
Omicron is said to be the driving force behind a recent spike in case numbers in Scotland.
There are also concerns that Omicron could evade some of the protections given by two doses of the coronavirus jab.
The Scottish Government yesterday announced an expansion of its booster programme to protect people during the cold winter months.
Scots aged 30 to 39-years-old can now book their booster vaccination on the NHS Scotland website.
The eligibility pool is expected to include 18 to 29-year-olds later in the week. All adults are expected to have been offered a Covid booster jab by the new year.
Earlier today, we reported that Scots are likely to face new coronavirus restrictions over the coming days. Health Secretary Humza Yousaf warned that changes to current restrictions are “inevitable”.
Nicola Sturgeon is set to address the Scottish Parliament tomorrow about the latest situation in the pandemic.
How many Omicron cases have been identified in Scotland?
The Scottish Government has so far confirmed 159 cases of Omicron in Scotland, according to the latest Public Health Scotland data.
But there are fears that this figure could be much higher due to the lag between a positive test and the conclusion of further lab testing.
The Omicron variant has a mutation which leads to something called S gene target failure - which has been identified as a reasonable proxy for the new variant.
As of December 10, 4,743 Covid tests were checked for S gene dropout - which represents 15.5 per cent of new cases of the virus.
Where have confirmed cases of Omicron been identified?
Omicron has been found in nine health board areas in Scotland - with Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Lanarkshire seeing the highest number of cases.
The number of Omicron infections confirmed in each local area current stands at:
- Ayrshire and Arran - 2
- Fife - 1
- Forth Valley - 15
- Grampian - 5
- Greater Glasgow and Clyde - 69
- Highland - 14
- Lanarkshire - 42
- Lothian - 10
- Tayside - 1
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here
