Scotland Covid: over 7,000 cases recorded in record daily high as Scot Gov warn of ‘fragile’ situation

The Scottish Government has warned the country is in a ‘fragile’ position, as another record high number of daily cases was recorded in the 24 hours to 29 August.

On 29 August, there were 7,113 new covid cases, nearly 300 more than the previous record of 6,835 which was reached on Friday.

There has now been a total of 8,111 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, up eight in the past 24 hours.

‘Fragile situation’

Following the new record, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Tweeted: "We are seeing a rising curve of cases in Scotland. It’s reassuring that vaccines are preventing the levels of serious health harms that case numbers like this would once have caused.

"However, we can’t be complacent and are monitoring carefully. In the meantime, please take care."

Her words were echoed in a statement by the Scottish government, warning the current situation in Scotland is “fragile,” and refused to rule out a return of some restrictions.

The government also asked that all unvaccinated Scots who are eligible for the vaccine - everyone over the age of 16 - to get their double dose.

Over two thirds of cases were in people under 40.

The Scottish Government also urged Scots to remember “basic steps like wearing face coverings on public transport, keeping a safe distance from others and opening a window if you have someone in your house for ventilation can also play a key role in breaking off chains of transmission.”

“All these measures can help ensure we maintain the progress that we have made, and to keep on living more freely,” it added.

Cases double in one week

It is the third time in a week the record for new infections has been broken, as new cases more than doubled in a week.

Three council areas - East and West Dunbartonshire and North Lanarkshire - now have weekly case rates above 1,000 per 100,000 of population.

The number of patients in hospital with recently confirmed coronavirus infections has also risen for the ninth consecutive day, reaching 507, with 52 in intensive care.

A further 17,655 vaccinations were carried out in the past 24 hours.

Of those, 3,233 were first doses and 14,422 were second doses, taking the totals to 4,101,311 and 3,655,287 respectively.