SCOTLAND is seeing "some real signs of progress" in the fight against coronavirus, Nicola Sturgeon has said, with the number of people in intensive care falling by around a third in the last fortnight.
The First Minister said there is evidence the ongoing lockdown is making a "real and positive difference" but warned progress remains fragile.
She made the comments as it emerged 13 more people have died in Scotland after testing positive for Covid-19, bringing the total to 1,262.
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There are 1,762 people in hospital and 134 in intensive care, while the number of confirmed cases has risen by 197 to 10,521.
Speaking during the Scottish Government's daily coronavirus briefing, Ms Sturgeon said: "We are now seeing some real signs of progress.
"The number of people in intensive care has fallen by around a third in the last fortnight.
"The number of people in hospital, which was rising sharply in the first ten days of this month, has also now broadly stabilised, and the trend there may also now be a downward one.
"Our NHS, while working incredibly hard in the most difficult circumstances, has not been overwhelmed, which just a few weeks ago we really feared that it might be.
"Of course, we're not yet seeing a definite fall in the number of people who are dying each day from the virus.
"However, as we've always said, because of the way the illness progresses, that will be the last daily number that we do start to see decline, and we hope to see that in the next couple of weeks.
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"But we do have evidence that the actions all of us...are taking, are making a real and positive difference."
However, Ms Sturgeon stressed this progress remains "very fragile".
And she said any premature easing of restrictions would make the damage to the economy even worse.
The First Minister revealed she would say more about the different options for lifting the lockdown in the coming days.
Elsewhere, she said there is no certainty over whether or not people who have had Covid-19 gain immunity.
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