SCOTLAND could be experiencing record levels of Covid cases as one in 15 people are infected amid a "surge" in the virus.
According to the ZOE study, which logs symptoms from app users, rates are by far the highest in the UK.
This echoes findings from the Office for National Statistics based on samples from communities across the UK, the Scottish Sun reports.
Professor Tim Spector’s ZOE team said: “The rates of logged Covid infections continue to rise, currently at 285,000, but Tim expects them to exceed 300,000 soon.
“Currently, one in 21 people has Covid but this has increased from last week, and Scottish rates of prevalence are even higher with one in 15 currently infected.
“This increase of 26% in daily infections from last week is likely due to the Omicron BA.5 variant now dominant in the UK.
“It’s particularly good at immune escape, causing a sharp increase in reinfections in people in spite of vaccines and natural immunity, particularly over the past few weeks.”
The rate is slightly lower than the highest ever seen, which was one in 11 in March and was recorded under the separate ONS infection survey.
Last week, the same survey put recent rates in Scotland at one in 18 - the highest in the UK.
However, public health expert Professor Linda Bauld of Edinburgh University has said the number of people requiring intensive care was “really quite low”, and a rise in “admissions” would not all be people treated primarily for Covid.
She added: “I think things will settle down. At the moment the main concern for a lot of people is just the sheer disruption of having lots of people off work, including actually in the NHS.
"So, let’s hope we get through this really bumpy patch.”
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