Covid rates fall for the 8th week in a row

THE proportion of people in Scotland with Covid-19 has fallen for the eighth week in a row, according to the latest figures.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates 122,200 people in private households had Covid in the week ending May 13.

This equates to around one in 45 people, down from one in 35 people the previous week, and is the eighth consecutive weekly drop.

It is the lowest estimate for infections in Scotland since before Christmas, when virus levels were just starting to rise due to the spread of the original Omicron variant.

Sarah Crofts, head of analytical outputs for the ONS Covid-19 Infection Survey, said: “Today’s figures continue to show a welcome decline in infections across the UK, reaching their lowest point in England since the start of December last year.

“While younger age groups continue to be the lowest infected, there are early signs of the decrease slowing for under-35s.

“We will continue to monitor these patterns over the coming weeks since it is too early to say if this is part of a longer trend.”

The latest Public Health Scotland (PHS) figures show there were 959 positive Covid cases per day on average in

Scotland in the week to May 18, 14.6% down on the previous seven days.