Latest Covid infection maps paint a worrying picture as experts warn of a fourth wave of infections in the autumn.
Scotland is now recording some of its highest case numbers since the start of the pandemic, while cases are rising in some parts of the rest of the UK.
Latest Department of Health data shows that eight of the UK's worst hotspots are in Scotland, while two are in Northern Ireland.
It has been branded a "warning for England", with pupils returning to school thought to have sparked a dramatic increase.
Today Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that "a lot of people" will fall seriously ill and some will die if the country does not bring infections back under control.
She told MSPs that rising hospitalisations showed the seriousness of the situation.
Ms Sturgeon stated: "What is inescapably the case is that we must turn the corner and see the sharp increase in cases level off and then come down.
"Let me now explain why that is so important. On Friday 20 August, there were 312 people in hospital with Covid. Today, there are 629.
"The number of people in intensive care has risen more slowly - but it has risen.
"On 20 August it was 34 and today it is 59."
"If the recent surge in cases was to continue – if, for instance, we were to see cases continuing to rise to 10,000 or more a day, something I hope won’t happen, but is by no means impossible – that will have serious consequences.
"A lot of people will fall seriously ill. Some will die. And the NHS will come under even more severe pressure."
The 10 areas with the highest infection rates in the UK are:
- East Dunbartonshire, Scotland - 1231.3 cases per 100,000
- North Lanarkshire, Scotland - 1229.4 cases per 100,000
- West Dunbartonshire, Scotland - 1143.3 cases per 100,000
- Inverclyde, Scotland - 1112.1 cases per 100,000
- Renfrewshire, Scotland - 1017.9 cases per 100,000
- Fermanagh and Omagh, Northern Ireland - 1011.6 cases per 100,000
- East Renfrewshire, Scotland - 1000.4 cases per 100,000
- South Lanarkshire, Scotland - 988.1 cases per 100,000
- Glasgow City, Scotland - 949.3 cases per 100,000
- Derry City and Strabane, Northern Ireland - 934.4 cases per 100,000
Last week Scotland's deputy first minister John Swinney told the BBC that schools returning from the summer holidays could be driving the rise in new cases.
He said: "Cases have risen very significantly within Scotland and we are looking closely at why that is the case.
"Undoubtedly the gathering of people together in schools will have fuelled that to some extent, and you can see that in the proportion of younger people who are testing positive."
Experts have warned that the rise in Scotland could be mirrored in other parts of the UK.
Dr Deepti Gurdasani, an epidemiologist at Queen Mary University of London, posted on Twitter : “Scotland is proving to be a cautionary tale of what happens when restrictions are dropped & then schools reopened without adequate mitigations when R is already above 1.
“We can expect worse in England in the near future.
“More recently, cases (in Scotland) have been rising even more steeply, and some of this appears to be attributable to transmission in educational institutions.
“Hospitalisations in Scotland are already increasing, and the impact of increase in transmission among children following school openings will only be felt in hospitalisation rates among these groups next week.
“This should be a warning for England, where the situation is likely to be much worse.”
