Coronavirus infections in Scotland are now 36 times higher than they were at this point last year.
The seven day average of the number of daily infections recorded currently stands at 5,424, according to the latest Scottish Government data.
It comes days after Scotland recorded its highest ever daily rise in infections on Sunday, when 7,113 Scots tested positive for Covid over a 24-hour period.
Daily case numbers of more than 5,000 were also recorded on a further two days last week as the country continues to deal with a huge surge in infections.
And the latest figures are a stark contrast to those recorded in the summer last year, when Nicola Sturgeon claimed that Scotland was ‘not far away’ from eliminating the virus.
Data has revealed that Scotland was averaging around 119 daily cases towards the end of August 2020.
The average for the number of daily deaths has also risen from 0.3 in August 2020 to 5.9 at the same time this year.
Test positivity has also surged from 0.5% in August 2020 to 13.2% in August 2021.
The number of Scots needing hospital treatment has also risen from 266 at this point last year to 585 currently in wards across the country.
Why are the case numbers so high this year?
Data shows that the Scottish Government has carried out almost double the number of tests compared to last year.
Around 43,000 daily tests are carried out on average at this moment in time, which is a huge increase compared to the approximate 23,000 daily tests conducted on average in August.
More testing facilities have been opened across Scotland over recent months, while the access to testing is now much easier this time around.
Scots can get access to rapid home testing kits, while regular testing is also conducted in schools across Scotland.
More transmissible mutations of the virus have also emerged in Scotland since August 2020.
Recent studies show that the Delta variant, which was first discovered in India, accounts for more than 98% of Covid cases across the UK.
It is believed that the Delta variant is around 60% more transmissible than the Alpha variant (previously known at the Kent variant), which saw Scotland dip into a second national lockdown over the winter.
Studies also show that people infected with the Delta variant of Covid carry twice the risk of needing to be treated in hospital than those with the Alpha strain.
Another factor behind the rise is the recent scrapping of many Covid restrictions that were in place last year.
August 9 saw businesses such as nightclubs reopen for the first time in almost 18 months, while the law on social distancing and group gatherings were thrown out.
Full capacity crowds have now also returned to many football stadiums and events, such as music festivals, are allowed to resume.
Vaccines have changed the fight against the virus
The number of people receiving hospital treatment remains much lower than that of the previous peak of infections seen during the winter wave at the beginning of the year.
Data shows that more than 2,000 Scots were in Covid wards up and down in the country on January 23 - just weeks after case numbers just peaked above 2,600.
The number of people currently being treated in hospital stands at 551 - which includes 52 in intensive care.
Scotland also recorded a record high daily number of Covid related deaths on January 9, when 93 were reported over a 24-hour period.
Four daily Covid related deaths were recorded when the daily case numbers rose to 6,835 last Friday.
And there is evidence to suggest that the vaccination programme is preventing a large number of Covid deaths.
A study published by Public Health England estimates that more than 105,000 lives have been saved across the UK thanks to the vaccine rollout - with protection particularly enhanced after a second dose of the jag.
The latest Public Health Scotland data shows that 82.4% of Scots have now been given both doses of the vaccine.
Could the high number of cases lead to a lockdown?
It was speculated that a so-called ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown could be on the cards for Scots amid the recent surge in new infections.
Nicola Sturgeon last week announced that the Scottish Government is not currently looking into this - but the First Minister has not ruled out the possibility of some restrictions returning.
On Friday, the First Minister said: “I want to be clear that some of the speculation you might be reading in the media just now is not accurate - for example, we are not currently considering a circuit breaker lockdown.
"For the moment, though, I do need to stress the vital importance of everyone playing their part in limiting the spread of the virus. The more we all do this, the more chance we have of avoiding the need to re-impose any formal restrictions."
