A total of 12 people have sadly died of coronavirus in Scotland in the last 24 hours.
Figures announced by the Scottish Government this afternoon reveal 555 new cases of the virus have been identified overnight.
The statistics also reveal a total of 639 people are being treated in hospital, with 63 in ICU, one less than yesterday.
The latest figures mean that since the start of the pandemic, 7,421 people have lost their lives to coronavirus in Scotland.
The Scottish Government also announced 1,743,869 people have received their first vaccine and 114,081 their second jag.
It comes as Nicola Sturgeon has said she is "hopeful" that rules on outdoor meetings in Scotland could soon be relaxed.
But she warned Scots "not to get carried away" as the daily number of covid cases dropped to its lowest level since September.
The SNP leader is due to update the Scottish Parliament on lockdown on Tuesday with the latest reviews on lockdown.
She said there could be an announcement on "relatively minor, but important changes to the rules around our ability to meet people outdoors, and also on how young people are able to interact with friends outdoors".
It comes after a new Covid variant was found in the UK.
Scientists have identified 16 cases of a new coronavirus variant in the UK, Public Health England (PHE) announced.
Cases of the variant, referred to as VUI-202102/04, were first identified on February 15 through genomic horizon scanning.
PHE said on Thursday that all individuals who tested positive and their contacts have been traced and advised to isolate.
The variant, which is understood to have originated in the UK, was designated a "variant under investigation" (VUI) on February 24.
