Almost 500 people have been confirmed to have tested positive for Covid-19 in Scotland during the past 24 hours, though the number of people in hospital is falling.
Speaking during the daily briefing on the state of the pandemic in Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 recorded yesterday was 498.
The test positivity rate was recorded at 3.1%, lower 5% the World Health Organisation considers the marker for an epidemic being under control.
READ MORE: Linda Bauld — Vaccines are giving us hope, and a cautious route out of this pandemic
The number of people being treated in hospital - including those in intensive care - has dropped during the past 24 hours.
A total of 666 people are currently hospitalised with a case of the virus - down 52 from Thursday - while 64 are in intensive care wards, a fall of three.
A total of 11 new deaths were registered yesterdsay, taking the overall toll from the virus to 7409.
Ms Sturgeon said that each death from the virus is a tragedy, and offered her condolaces to the families of those affected.
Of those being treated in hospital, 157 were in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board area, 107 in Lanarkshire, 73 in Lothian and the rest spread out across the country.
A total of 1,717,672 people have received their first dose of the vaccine - an increase of 29,064, while 8,139 people received a second dose, taking the overall total to 108,197.
READ MORE: NHS bosses told to offer vaccinators shifts 'on same basis'
Nicola Sturgeon said: “The good progress of the vaccination programme and also the declining number of people catching or falling seriously ill with Covid should give us all real encouragement just now that greater normality is firmly on the horizon.”
Vaccination continues apace
Ms Sturgeon said she was “hopeful” the Scottish Government may on Tuesday be able to announce some “relatively minor but important changes” to the rules around meeting people out of doors and young people seeing their friends out of doors.
Speaking at her regular coronavirus briefing, she stressed: “It is really important that we don’t get carried away yet. The overall stay-at-home message needs to stay for a bit longer so we don’t send our progress into reverse.
“I am very keen that within that, if we can, we should all get a bit more opportunity to see loved ones as the first steps we take out of this lockdown.”
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