First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said there is cause for optimism as she revealed Covid cases are at a five-month low.
The Scottish Government’s daily figures show that 542 new cases have been recorded across the country in the last 24 hours. Of those 12 are in Grampian, 18 in the Highlands and one in the Western Isles.
One person from the Highlands has also died. Across Scotland, 33 people in nine health board areas have died, mostly in the central belt.
None were recorded in Grampian or the islands.
Speaking at Holyrood, Ms Sturgeon said the declining figures showed lockdown measures and vaccinations were working, but urged caution – warning they are still higher than last summer.
Coronavirus in Scotland – track the spread in these charts and maps
She said: “This time last week we were recording an average of 815 cases a day. That has fallen to 657 on average. That’s the lowest level since the first week of October last year.
“We have more reason to be optimistic since any time of autumn last year.
“657 new cases a day is the lowest level for five months, but that’s still 13 times higher than mid-August.
Vaccinations
Across the north-east, 155,612 people – 32.1% of the population – have now received their first dose of the vaccine.
In the Highlands, 106,464 people – 39.5% of the population – have had their jab.
For the smaller island populations, nearly half of Shetland has been immunised. The total there is 9.039 residents.
A further 7,827 people in Orkney (41.9% of the population) and 11,330 people in the Western Isles (50.4%) have received their first jab.
Covid vaccine in Scotland: Track the rollout progress with these charts