FEWER than 5% of Scots have antibodies to Covid-19, according to the latest analysis from Public Health Scotland.
The body examined 4571 blood samples taken from community healthcare appointments between April and June this year. They found the proportion of people who had antibodies to Covid-19 over that period was estimated to be 4.3%.
The Government agency has published its first "enhanced surveillance" report into the prevalence of Covid-19 antibodies, which are proteins produced when the body is fighting the virus.
READ MORE: Covid-19 in Scotland: One death after week with no fatalities
Specific coronavirus antibodies remain in the blood for several weeks after infection, the report said.
Dr Nicola Steedman, Scotland's interim deputy chief medical officer, discussed the significance of the study at the daily virus briefing today.
She said many people who have coronavirus will not show symptoms and will therefore not be tested, describing this group as the "bottom of the iceberg".
However everyone who has contracted Covid-19 will produce antibodies, she said, giving a more complete indication of how the virus has spread through the population.
Dr Steedman said: "Only a fairly small proportion of the population have so far likely been exposed to coronavirus in Scotland.
"And it's this low number of people exposed that explains and reinforces our ongoing messages to you."
She reiterated the Scottish Government's guidance, saying: "We need to be careful when we're easing out of lockdown and secondly this is why we still want you to follow the current guidance on physical distancing and all the other measures that we recommend in order to protect you, your loved ones and, in fact, to protect all of us."
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