THE First Minister has confirmed a further 717 people in Scotland have tested positive for Covid-19 – 8.3% of the total number of tests carried out.

Nicola Sturgeon said the figure is lower than the usually low figure reported on Mondays but still takes the total number of positive cases here to 82,011.

Six people who tested positive had died in the last 24 hours.

She said early data showed 220 cases in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area, 136 in NHS Lanarkshire and 101 in NHS Lothian, with the remainder spread across Scotland’s remaining health boards.

The number of patients in hospital with a confirmed case of Covid was down by 114 at 1227, with 98 in intensive care, which was down by two.

Case numbers on Mondays can be artificially lower, however the six deaths reported today take the total number of patients in Scotland who have died to 3086.