More than 30 new Covid cases have been recorded in Grampian in the last 24 hours – but there have been no deaths in any part of the north of Scotland.
Across the country, 488 new cases have been reported along with eight deaths.
The Scottish Government’s daily figures have shown 2.7% of the 19,947 tests carried out in the last day have been positive.
Of those, 31 were in Grampian, 10 in the Highlands and three in Shetland.
None have been recorded in the Western Isles or Orkney.
Meanwhile, the UK Government has revealed half the adult population has now been vaccinated and hailed the news as a “national success story”.
‘Huge success’ as half of UK adults receive Covid-19 vaccine – Hancock
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said more people received the jab yesterday than on any other day and paid tribute to all those who have contributed the vaccination programme’s success.
He added: “It’s down to the hard work of many, many, people.”
According to the Scottish Government’s figures, 2,085,525 in Scotland have now received the first dose of the vaccination and 207,028 have had their second.
In NHS Grampian, 42.5% of the population have had their first and 5.4% their second, while the rates in the Highland are 50.7% and 8.3% respectively.
The islands have a higher rate of first doses, with the Western Isles leading the way at 66.2% and 10.7%; Shetland 63.6% and 8.1% and Orkney at 61.% and 4.9%.
Hailing the national news, Prime Minister Boris Johnson – who received his first jab yesterday – said it was a “fantastic achievement”.
More than half the adult population of the UK have now received their first jab.
Many thanks to everyone involved in this fantastic achievement. Let’s keep going! pic.twitter.com/cf9kWThmuM
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) March 20, 2021