More than 376,000 people are likely to have tested positive for Covid in Scotland in the past week, setting a new national record.
As Covid cases rise for the seventh week in a row, 376,300 people are estimated to have tested positive for the virus this week.
This amounts to the equivalent of one in 14 people in Scotland setting a new record high since daily records began in 2020.
This is up from the previous week’s figures which reported 299,900 people, or one in 18, had tested positive with the virus.
Covid restrictions are due to change on Monday, March 21, but face coverings will still be mandatory after Covid cases in Scotland have been rising significantly over recent weeks.
Friday’s figures
According to figures published by the Scottish Government on Friday, there are 18,124 new cases of coronavirus in Scotland. These have been confirmed today after Scottish Government technical issues have finally been resolved.
IT issues have blighted the reporting of data through the week.
While the daily number of cases appears high, it has been announced that the figures include data collected over several days.
Data from March 16 and 17 after 2pm has also been included in Friday’s figures.
* Please note that figures reported today (18/03/2022) include more than a 24 hour period (from 2pm 16/03/2022 and 17/03/2022) due to the technical issues experienced earlier in the week.
— Scottish Government (@scotgov) March 18, 2022
There have been 31 patients in intensive care over the past few days and 2,050 people have been admitted with Covid into hospital. A further 23 people have died after testing positive with the virus.
Regional Breakdown
Over the past several days, NHS Grampian has reported 1,616 new cases of those infected with Covid. In Aberdeen there have been 566 new cases, 757 in Aberdeenshire and 292 in Moray.
NHS Highland reported 1,308 new cases. Of the 23 deaths reported, two people from NHS Grampian and four people from NHS Highland have died after testing positive with Covid.
Over the last seven days, NHS Western Isles has has the highest amount of cases per 100,000 people in Scotland, numbering 2,905, according to the newest data published. They have reported 143 new cases of those infected.
NHS Western Isles has this week closed a ward at its main Stornoway hospital to new admissions and visitors due to a Covid outbreak.
NHS Shetland has had 70 new cases and NHS Orkney has reported 47.
Vaccinations Update
As of 7.30am on March 18, the Scottish Government have reported that 4,441,944 have received their first dose of a Covid vaccination.
4,173,678 have received their second dose of a Covid vaccination and 3,473,650 have received a third dose or booster. These figures come after the Scottish Government could not provide vaccination data on March 16 due to technical difficulties.
Coronavirus in Scotland – track the spread with these charts
