Coronavirus in Scotland: 138 new cases in the Lothians as country records eight new deaths

Across Scotland, 655 new cases of the virus have been confirmed with 162 in Greater Glasgow and Clyde and 134 in Lanarkshire.

Of these new cases, 397 patients were being treated in hospital last night, eight less than the day before, with 35 people being treated in an ICU having tested positive for the virus.

The new cases represent 2.9 per cent of people who had been tested for the virus.

Health Secretary Jeanne Freeman, who was leading today’s coronavirus briefing, said 97 per cent of those aged 65-69 have now received their first dose of the vaccine.

During a session in Parliament earlier this week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a route map out of lockdown for Scotland with specific dates for when industry can start to reopen.

The stay at home message will change to ‘stay local’ from April 2 with more students returning to school.

Read here for more information about Scotland’s routemap out of lockdown.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.