SCOTLAND has recorded another 38 coronavirus deaths, the First Minister confirmed at today’s Covid briefing.
Nicola Sturgeon told viewers that the death toll under this measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – is now 4173.
The official Scottish Government tally differs from that published by the National Records of Scotland (NRS), which publishes all deaths where Covid-19 is mentioned on the death certificate.
Sturgeon said there were 698 new coronavirus cases found across Scotland over the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 108,438.
READ MORE: Covid in Scotland: Total number of deaths passes 6000, NRS says
Of the new cases there were 140 in Lothian, 109 in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 92 in Lanarkshire and 91 in Ayrshire and Arran. The other cases were spread across eight other health board areas.
There were 1031 people in hospital, up 35 on the previous day, and 49 people in intensive care, an increase of four.
The First Minister’s briefing came as the four nations decided not to change legal arrangements easing Covid restrictions for Christmas.
She explained that the Scottish Government will be updating their guidance later today, however.
READ MORE: Relaxation of coronavirus rules over Christmas to go ahead despite warnings
She stressed that the safest way to spend Christmas is to spend it in your own household, saying it is her “strong recommendation” that people do this.
If you do form a bubble she advised people should not stay overnight or meet people for more than one day.
The First Minister also suggested people limit a bubble to two households, adding the “smaller the better”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here