THE number of patients in hospital with Covid has risen sharply in Grampian since Christmas Day.
The health board saw a 71 per cent increase in the number of people it was treating for Covid, from 42 on Christmas Day to 72 on New Year's Eve.
The increase is far higher than the national average increase of 21% over the same period.
Its intensive care Covid numbers have also risen faster than anywhere else in Scotland - more than doubling from five to 11.
Hospital cases are a lag indicator, generally reflecting infections which occurred around two to three weeks earlier.
It comes after Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire were escalated from Level Two to Level Three restrictions in mid-December amid alarm over a rise in coronavirus cases in the region, which had gone from a daily average of 57 on December 1 to 90 by December 15.
READ MORE: Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, and East Lothian move into Level Three
Like the rest of mainland Scotland, the region has been under Level Four restrictions since Boxing Day.
Meanwhile, Dumfries and Galloway has seen its Covid patient numbers double - from seven on Christmas Day to 14 on New Year's Eve.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde saw Covid patient numbers increase by 18%, from 282 to 332, between Christmas Day and December 31, while NHS Lothian experienced a similar increase of 16%, from 167 to 193.
NHS Lanarkshire saw a sharper 31% increase, from 153 to 201.
READ MORE: Nearly 40% of coronavirus infections being caused by UK mutant strain
However, the increase in ICU Covid patients was much higher in Greater Glasgow and Clyde - from six to 13 - while in Lanarkshire it increased by one (from 10 to 11) and by four in Lothian (from eight to 12).
There is currently no published data on hospital numbers since 2021 began, but new figures should be updated on the Scottish Government website from tomorrow.
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