The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Number of patients in hospital with virus higher than in April
The number of patients in hospital with Covid-19 is now “quite a bit above” the April peak, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The first minister told the Scottish Government briefing that 1,664 people are in hospital confirmed to have the virus.
Of these patients, 126 are in intensive care, an increase of three.
The number of people in hospital with coronavirus has increased steadily in recent days.
One death from coronavirus was recorded in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of fatalities to 4,969.
Ms Sturgeon told the briefing the figures mean “that the number in hospital now with Covid is quite a bit above the peak of the first wave back in April”.
She said there are “more people in hospital with Covid than at any time since the pandemic started” and that this is “putting our health service under strain”.
Scotland is now in the “most perilous and serious position since the start of the pandemic”, she said, urging Scots to stay at home and stressing that going outside for exercise must be “essential”.
“When we mean go out for essential exercise that is what we mean, to get exercise, to get some fresh air,” she said.
“We’ve not put limits on that like we did in the first lockdown but we don’t mean by essential exercise going for a day trip with other people to the beach or to a park.”
Ms Sturgeon confirmed that as of Sunday, a total of 163, 37 7 people in Scotland had received their first dose of coronavirus vaccine.
She added there are now 1,100 vaccination sites operational – mainly GP practices and community vaccination centres.
“As our supplies of the vaccine increase, the number of venues will increase further, as pharmacies and other mass vaccination centres come on stream and also start to be used,” she said.
“We are working hard to get through this vaccination programme just as quickly as possible, because it is the main route out right now of the situation we all find ourselves in.”