Covid cases in Scotland have fallen, but the country still has the highest infection levels in the UK, according to new figures.

The latest weekly figures from the Office for National statistics indicated that in the week ending September 14 some 98,000 people in Scotland had the virus – equivalent to around one person in 55.

That compares to about one in 45 people the previous week.

While there were rises in infection levels in both England and Wales, the proportion of people with the virus in both nations was still lower than in Scotland.

The ONS said an estimated one in 70 people in England had the virus in the week ending September 14, with one in 75 people in Wales also infected.

A fall in infections in Northern Ireland, meanwhile, means that in the week ending September 14 around in 80 people were estimated to have Covid-19.

Sarah Crofts, deputy director for the Covid-19 infection survey at ONS, said: “Today’s data show a mixed picture across the UK, with increases in England and Wales while infections in Scotland and Northern Ireland have decreased.

“It is too early to see if these changing trends will continue and we will monitor the data closely to see any impact of the return of schools over the coming weeks.”