The number of people with coronavirus being treated in NHS Highland hospitals has leapt to its joint-highest level since the pandemic began.
There are currently 49 people receiving treatment in the health board with Covid, a figure not recorded since April 17, 2020 when the UK was less than a month into the first lockdown.
Just two weeks ago, there were 22 people in Highland hospitals who had tested positive for the virus.
No information is available on whether any of those patients are being treated in the ICU, as Public Health Scotland does not release data if the number is lower than five.
However, the latest Scottish Government statistics show there are 11 people in intensive care with coronavirus across the country – the second-lowest figure recorded since June last year.
NHS Grampian appears to be continuing its overall downward trend in hospital admissions, although today’s figure of 67 is an increase of two from yesterday.
However, Scotland’s wider hospital figures seem to be on the increase since a low of 885 was reported on February 13. Today’s number is 1,093.
The 11 deaths of people who recently tested positive for Covid reported across the country included one in Aberdeenshire.
High Covid case counts continue
The three island local authorities have recorded relatively high numbers of new cases once again, though no records have been broken.
There were 53 new cases reported in Orkney in the past 24 hours, while Shetland reported 51 and the Western Isles reported 49.
The Highlands recorded the third-highest number of new cases among mainland local authorities, with 380.
There were 266 in Aberdeenshire, 199 in Aberdeen and 101 in Moray, with 5,484 reported across Scotland.
