Giving her regular weekly update on the pandemic to MSPs in the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister reflected on the “positive trend” that we are now seeing.

She highlighted the “excellent progress” with the vaccination programme, coupled with a lower case figures and a drop in hospital admissions.

Sturgeon said: “All of us, I think, can see that things are getting better just now.

“In recent weeks, we have seen a significant fall in new cases.

“Deaths and hospital admissions are thankfully now falling.

“And the vaccination programme is not just progressing well, it is progressing beyond our initial expectations."

Here, we outline five graphs that show Scotland’s progress during lockdown.

1. Case numbers

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, Sturgeon pointed towards the reduction in case numbers in recent weeks.

She said: "I think it is worth reflecting on the positive trend that we are now seeing.

"Two weeks ago, we were recording an average of 815 new cases a day across the country.

"Last week, that had fallen to 657 new cases a day.

"This week, it has fallen further to an average of 490 new cases a day."

2. Recorded deaths

The First Minister told MSPs: "The number of deaths – although still heartbreakingly high – has almost halved since the third week of January."

3. Vaccination progress

Sturgeon said: "Almost 40% of the entire adult population has now received a first dose of the vaccine.

"There is already strong evidence that the vaccination programme has significantly reduced deaths in care homes.

"And studies are also starting to show that vaccination - as well as reducing illness and death - can significantly reduce transmission of the virus.

"We therefore have not absolute confidence yet but increasing confidence that as more and more people acquire some protection through vaccination, we will be able to ease restrictions while still keeping the R number below 1."

4. Hospital admissions

The number of people having tested positive being admitted to hospital has also vastly dropped in recent weeks.

After a peak of around 2085 people in hospital on January 23, this figure reduced to just around 1000 people a month later.

As of yesterday, 614 people were admitted to hospital with Covid in Scotland.

5. Test positivity

The average rate of test positivity now in Scotland is now just above 3%, according to the Scottish Government. 

This is down from a peak of around 12.1% back on January 7. 

The World Health Organisation considers below 5% as an indication that the pandemic is under control.