Scottish Government figures reveal that the NHS Highland health board area recorded more positive tests for the coronavirus in January than in the entire Covid-19 pandemic up to mid-December
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MORE than 1600 Covid-19 cases were detected across the NHS Highland area in January – more than were recorded in the region's entire pandemic up to mid-December.
The cumulative number of infections detected in the health board area since the start of the pandemic increased from 2314 on January 1 to 3976 on February 1 – an increase of 1662.
To put that into perspective, NHS Highland's confirmed case total for the entire pandemic did not pass its first 1662 positive tests until December 14.
The month of January averaged more than 50 new positive tests per day.
The totals emerged when the latest daily update was released on Monday afternoon.
It also showed that 16 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded across the NHS Highland region in the past 24 hours.
The number of people being treated for the virus in NHS Highland hospitals increased by one, to 33.
But those in intensive care dropped by one, to six.
Across Scotland there were 848 fresh positive tests in the past 24 hours. This represented 9.5 per cent of all tests carried out during that window.
Some 1958 people were being treated for Covid-19 in the nation’s hospitals – an increase of 17.
But there was no changed in the number of those in intensive care, which remained the same as yesterday at 143.
Sadly, six further deaths were recorded among people who previously tested positive for the virus in the past 28 days.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the north of Scotland, there were no new positive tests in the Northern Isles since the last update.
NHS Eileanan Siar saw its cumulative total increase by one, to 189.
On the mainland, there were 45 newly confirmed cases in NHS Grampian, which now has a running tally of 12,426.
And NHS Tayside’s total increased by 61, to 12,109.
There have now been 180,533 confirmed cases of Covid-19 across Scotland since the start of the pandemic last spring.
And some 575,897 people have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
Related news: 34 new confirmed coronavirus cases in NHS Highland area
