Covid cases in Scotland are at their highest level since July, with an estimated one in 25 having the virus.
All restrictions relating to the virus were lifted early in 2022, with vaccine uptake significantly reducing the mortality and hospitalisation rate associated with the respiratory condition.
According to the Office for National Statistics though Scotland is currently recording its highest levels of infection since July, with an estimated 213,100 people infected for the week up to December 28, around one in 25.
Public Health Scotland data also reveals that for the week to January 6, there were 67 deaths of people with the virus.
That was up from 64 in the previous week but is lower than any week in 2022 from January 3 to May 9.
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It's also thought that Scotland has the lowest rate of infection in the UK currently, with around one in 20 in England believed to be infected and one in 18 in Wales.
While rates of Covid remain relatively low, NHS board across Scotland and the UK as a whole are being put under severe strain by flu and other respiratory illnesses.
In its weekly update Public Health Scotland stated that nine of 14 health boards were experiencing "extraordinary" levels with numbers of people hospitalised with flu at the highest rate for five years. There were 2,279 cases of influenza in people in hospital.
Michelle Bowen, head of health surveillance dissemination and strategy for the ONS said the organisation would monitor the situation closely.
She continued: "Infections have risen across the whole of the UK.
"In England, Wales and Scotland, cases are at the highest they have been since July 2022, and the highest they have been since March 2022 in Northern Ireland."
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