Over 7,800 new cases of Covid have been reported in Scotland today, with experts saying the latest data shows the Omicron wave is “decelerating”.
New Scottish Government figures show 7,833 new positive tests on Saturday, down from over 9,900 on Friday.
The daily increase in new cases has continued to fall after a record high of over 20,000 new infections were recorded on January 3.
The latest public health figures also show 21 new deaths as a result of coronavirus, taking the death toll among people who tested positive to 10,059.
As of Friday, 1,540 people who tested positive are currently in hospital, down four on Friday’s figure.
Number of Covid patients in hospital falls by four
Meanwhile, 46 patients are receiving treatment in intensive care units across Scotland.
Jillian Evans, head of health intelligence at NHS Grampian, said that the slow down in daily infections was “positive news” but she warned that the country was not yet “out of the woods”.
Ms Evans also pointed out that hospitalisations as a result of the record high infection rates over Christmas were still likely over the next two weeks.
“The issue for us right now of course is with high infection rates right up to that Christmas period and into New Year we will see the effect of that in hospitals across Scotland, so the baked-in cases we have got we expect to see for the next week or two weeks.
“So that means we’re still under pressure in health and social care systems but it gives us cause for optimism.”
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said the Omicron wave in Scotland was decelerating, but national clinical director Jason Leitch cautioned that it was unlikely to be the last new strain Scotland.
Speaking to STV, Professor Leitch said: “We’ve had four variants, and they’ve got progressively worse, and this one has got slightly better.
“Omicron didn’t come from Delta and Delta didn’t come from Alpha. That’s not how it works. They all come from the beginning.
“So you could get a more mild one, and that would help us and you would end up having fewer people in hospital, but you could get a more severe one. So we have to be ready for all of those eventualities.
“This is not the last variant, there will be another one. So governments all over the world, including ours, have to be ready and businesses have to be ready.”
Coronavirus in Scotland – track the spread with these charts
