Scots infection rate rising

THE number of Scots being infected each week with coronavirus is r i s i ng, figures have shown.

A report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published yesterday shows that 0.87 per cent of people north of the Border had the infection in the week to November 21.

This equates to around 45,700 people testing positive for Covid-19.

The figure has risen steadily from 0.5 per cent of Scots in the week to October 11.

However, it is a much lower rate than that in England, which in the week to November 21 was 1.16 per cent.

The ONS report states: ‘Our modelling suggests that positivity rates in Scotland have increased in the most recent week, after appearing to have levelled off in the previous week.

‘This is based on exploratory modelling of throat and nose swab results.

‘Because of the relatively small number of tests and a low number of positives in our sample, credible intervals are wide and therefore results should be interpreted with caution.’

The positivity rate is the percentage of people who have tested positive for coronavirus at a point in time, with or without having symptoms, on a swab taken from the nose and throat.