Covid Scotland: Where have case numbers increased in Tayside and Fife this week?

Covid cases remain on the decline in Dundee and Angus this week, but are on the rise again in Fife, as well as Perth and Kinross.

Fife saw the largest increase in numbers between August 20 and 26, with an 11.5% rise. There were 261 positive cases, compared with 287 the week before.

And in Perth and Kinross, cases rose by 8.4% this week, with 116 people confirming a positive case. The week before saw 105 people test positive.

However, Dundee had the largest drop in case numbers, with positive tests falling 30% this week. There were 84 people testing positive this week, compared with 139 the week before.

And in Angus, cases fell by 5.1% with 74 people testing positive this week. The previous week saw 78 positive cases.

What about the rest of Scotland?

This week, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) data revealed one in 55 Scots tested positive in the week ending August 23. This is compared with one in 40 last week.

The estimated number of people testing positive for Covid-19 in Scotland was 96,000, meaning 1.82% of the population tested positive between August 17 and 23.

In England, one in 60 tested positive the same week. The figures were one in 65 in Wales and one in 50 in Northern Ireland.

It means Northern Ireland now has the largest estimated average ratio of the population testing positive for Covid-19 last week, compared with Scotland last week.

What is my risk of developing long Covid?

Last month, research carried out by the Zoe Health study has found the odds of experiencing long Covid were between 20 to 50% less during the Omicron period versus the Delta period, depending on age and time since vaccination.

The analysis shows 4.4% of Omicron cases developed into long Covid, compared to 10.8% of Delta cases.

However, the absolute number of people experiencing long Covid was in fact higher in the Omicron period.

This was because of the vast numbers of people infected with Omicron from December 2021 to February 2022.

And the ONS estimated the numbers of people with long Covid actually increased from 1.3 million in January 2022 to two million as of May 1 2022.