A SCOTTISH health board has implored the public to continue following coronavirus guidance to help prevent its hospitals being overwhelmed.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) is helping more than 500 people across 20 "red" wards, which exclusively treat coronavirus patients.
Combined with programmes of elective surgery and normal hospital affairs, NHSGGC has said it is currently looking after more people "than ever before".
The health board area is one of five in Scotland to have extra restrictions in place, including closures of pubs and restaurants, as part of measures to reduce the number of positive cases.
At the First Minister's daily coronavirus briefing today, Nicola Sturgeon said 493 of 1401 cases in the past 24 hours came from the NHSGGC region - the highest in the country.
Scott Davidson, deputy medical director for acute services at NHSGGC, said: "Numbers are continuing to rise across Scotland, and Greater Glasgow and Clyde has been the worst affected region in the country.
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"It is absolutely critical the public follows the guidelines to ensure that our staff are able to continue effectively managing and treating both Covid and non-Covid patients.
"During this time, we are maintaining a programme of elective surgery but this also means that we are currently looking after more patients than ever before.
"So while the numbers of Covid-19 patients may not yet have reached March's peak levels, there is as much pressure on our staff across services.
"We would like to remind the public of the current policies in relation to using health services, as minimising unnecessary footfall plays a huge role in preventing the spread of the virus, and allows our staff to focus on delivering the best care possible."
Elsewhere, NHS Tayside has also introduced visiting restrictions across its hospitals from Monday in a bid to limit the spread of the virus and protect vulnerable patients.
There are currently just under 50 patients with confirmed Covid-19 in hospitals there as well as a number of suspected cases.
As such there are restrictions in wards for adult patients in Ninewells Hospital, Dundee; all wards at Perth Royal Infirmary; and the surgical unit wards in Stracathro Hospital near Brechin.
Visiting in these areas can continue in specific circumstances, for example for patients receiving end-of-life care.
The public are also reminded they can continue to visit Tayside Children's Hospital, maternity and neonatal wards, mental health facilities and community hospitals.
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NHS Tayside director of nursing and midwifery Claire Pearce said: "We understand that suspending visiting will impact on families and patients and we know that not being able to visit family members whilst they are in hospital is distressing for many people.
"However it is vital that we keep our patients, staff and the public safe. We hope everyone understands that we have made this difficult decision for these reasons.
"In order to manage the number of patients with the virus, we are using our three acute hospitals flexibly with patients and staff moving between the sites.
"This means that we must restrict visiting in all three sites to help further reduce the number of people coming into our hospitals each day and help limit the spread of coronavirus.
"We will continue to offer virtual visiting for patients using telephones, tablets and laptops to allow people to keep in touch with their loved ones."
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