SCOTLAND is “firmly heading in the right direction” in the fight against coronavirus, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The First Minister said the R number, the average rate at which a person with Covid-19 infects others, is estimated to remain below 1.
Scotland recorded 24 deaths from coronavirus and 500 positive tests in the previous 24 hours, she confirmed, bringing the death toll under this measure to 7398.
There were 726 people in hospital confirmed to have the virus, down 24 in 24 hours, and 69 patients were in intensive care, down one.
Speaking ahead of FMQs, Sturgeon said: “There is little doubt at the moment that things are heading in the right direction.”
She added there is “much to feel optimistic about” but urged people to continue with caution and comply with stay-at-home regulations and other mitigation measures. Giving an update on the vaccination programme, she said 1,688,808 people had received a first dose as of yesterday morning and 100,058 had received their second dose.
Meanwhile, non-compliance with regulations put in place to stop the spread of coronavirus, particularly indoor gatherings, is on the rise, the head of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) has said.
Calum Steele, the general secretary of the SPF, said more complaints were being made against certain people who “have had enough” of the restrictions. But he said he does not believe, despite recent statistics, people in cities are more likely to break the rules as opposed to those in more rural areas.
Following a question from Labour MSP Alex Rowley at the Covid-19 Committee yesterday, he said: “I think to some extent, we’re probably talking about house parties largely ... but it actually reaches across the length and breadth of the country.
“Those examples of non-compliance are increasing among a relatively small proportion of the population who have just decided that they’ve had enough.”
Rowley quoted a recent 12% spike in complaints made to police in Dundee, compared to last year, while the same figure in Perth and Kinross dropped by 11.8%.
Steele added the population is struggling under “fatigue” from the restrictions, which on March 23 will have been in place in some form across the country for a year.
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