NHS Highland detects 47 further Covid-19 cases; increase came as Scotland reported 895 new positive tests for the coronavirus in the past day

FORTY-seven new positive tests for Covid-19 have been recorded across the NHS Highland health board area in the past day.

The region’s cumulative number of confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic rose from 4067 to 4114 when the latest daily update was published on Friday afternoon.

Thirty-three people were receiving treatment for the virus in NHS Highland hospitals last night – down one from yesterday.

Seven of those were in intensive care – a figure unchanged since Thursday’s update.

Across Scotland there were 895 fresh positive tests for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. This represented 4.9 per cent of all tests during that period.

Scottish hospitals were treating 1794 people for the virus last night – a fall of 18 on Thursday’s figure.

And those in intensive care fell four to 123.

Sadly a further 61 deaths have been recorded among people who previously tested positive for the virus in the past 28 days.

But, in better news, recent record-breaking vaccination rates continued. A further 48,165 people received their first dose of the vaccine as of 8.30am this morning – beating the previous daily record, which was set just yesterday. Some 742,512 Scots have now received their first jag.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the north of Scotland, there were once again no new cases in NHS Shetland or NHS Orkney. However, NHS Eileanan Siar recorded seven new positive tests, to take its cumulative tally to 209.

NHS Grampian recorded 55 fresh infections, for an overall total of 12,701.

And there have now been 12,353 known cases in NHS Tayside, after it added 63 new positive tests to its tally.

There have been 184,313 confirmed cases of Covid-19 across Scotland since the start of the pandemic.

Related news: 38 new Covid cases recorded

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