Surge in Covid infections and spike in hospital admissions in Scotland

A surge in Covid cases across the country has prompted the nation’s health body to return to weekly updates on the spread of the virus.

The number of coronavirus hospital admissions has also spiked by 36.4%, according to Public Health Scotland.

Public Health Scotland had been publishing data on the transmission of the disease monthly but said a recent increase meant it would return to updates every seven days.

The agency usually releases new data on coronavirus every four weeks during the spring and summer as the spread of the disease naturally falls.

But PHS said it had detected an increase in Covid in wastewater for several weeks which it said was accompanied by a rise in laboratory-confirmed PCR and self-reported cases.

Althought there has been a significant increase in hospital admissions, PHS said rates remain below recent peaks in spring and winter 2023.

More to follow...