SCOTLAND has recorded more than 20,000 new Covid cases in just 24 hours - breaking a new record set just days before.
The 20,217 cases recorded on January 3 has smashed the previous record of 16,857 set on December 30.
An update of figures from January 1 and 2 - when nothing was published due to the holiday break - shows that 17,065 and 14,080 positive tests were recorded on those two days respectively.
The combined total means that Scotland has recorded more than 50,000 cases of Covid-19 since 2022 began.
Data around the deaths of Covid-19 patients was not published on January 3, meaning the official figure still stands at 9858.
More complete data for the first four days of 2022 is expected on Wednesday, January 5.
The 20,217 new cases of Covid-19 recorded on January 3 represented 34.9% of the 65,860 new tests for the disease that reported results in the past 24 hours.
The Government warned that there continues to be an impact on the turnaround time of tests due to holidays and the sheer number being conducted.
Across Scotland yesterday, there were 1031 people in hospital with recently confirmed Covid-19. There were 38 people in intensive care.
In terms of the vaccination effort, 4,383,212 people have received their first dose, while 4,017,051 have also received a second.
A total of 2,992,583 people have received a third dose or "booster" jag.
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