‘Abide by rules’ as new cases hit four-month high

households. A total of 104 of yesterday’s cases were in the Glasgow health board area, 62 were in Lanarkshire and 25 were in Lothian.

There are 259 people in hospitals across Scotland confirmed to have the virus, down by two in 24 hours, with seven of these patients in intensive care, down one.

Last week, Miss Sturgeon was forced to halt Scotland’s progress out of lockdown.

The planned opening of theatres, live music venues and indoor soft play centres was due to happen today, however, this has been delayed until at least October 5. The continued surge in cases comes as thousands of university students prepare to return across Scotland.

The principals of Scotland’s 19 higher education institutions have written a joint letter to students addressing the challenges caused by Covid-19.

‘Our top priority as universities, in the midst of a pandemic, is to keep you and our staff safe and to contribute to keeping everyone else in our towns and cities, across Scotland as safe as possible,’ the statement says.

It calls on students to ‘look out for each other, and for the wider community’ and says campuses and teaching have been adapted to ‘keep you safe’. A survey by Universities Scotland, accompanying the statement, found widespread changes to campuses as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Two thirds of institutions have made public health information part of the student registration process, while 93 per cent have made university accommodation available to some students for two weeks before the start of term to allow them to quarantine.

Teaching and study spaces have been changed to support physical distancing and technology is being used to track staff and student movement on and around campus.