Covid-19: Case rise slowing but 'still too high' in Scotland says Sturgeon
The rate of increase of Covid-19 cases in Scotland appears to be slowing down, Nicola Sturgeon has said, but she warned cases are still "far too high".
In a coronavirus statement at the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister told MSPs an increase of more than 70 per cent in the average new daily cases was recorded between the week to August 22 and the week to August 29.
Figures for the most recent week, to September 5, show a daily average of 6,304 - an increase of nine per cent.
Ms Sturgeon said: "The data I have just reported, showing what seems to be a slowing in the rate of increase in new cases, gives us more cause for cautious optimism than we have had for a few weeks.
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She said this partly reflects that significantly more tests are being carried out now than in the earlier stages of the pandemic.
The First Minister said: "The levels of infection across the country - albeit that we may be seeing some potential and very welcome signs of stabilisation - remain far too high.
"That is why we must continue to monitor the situation very closely and be prepared - as any responsible government must be - to take any targeted and proportionate action that we consider necessary to keep the country as safe as possible."
She said the number of people in hospital with coronavirus has risen by almost 50 per cent between the seven days to Friday and the previous week.
In the daily coronavirus figures published on Wednesday, 883 people were in hospital with recently confirmed Covid-19, up 78 on the previous day, with 82 in intensive care, up five.
The daily figures show 17 coronavirus-linked deaths and 5,810 new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll under the daily measure - of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days - to 8,198.
The First Minister warned there is currently "very severe" pressure on the NHS, adding: "So that inescapable fact remains - if we don't see the rate of increase slow further and then fall, many more people will become seriously ill and, sadly, some of them will die."
She said: "We continue to hope that - and indeed as I have been outlining, recent data gives us a bit more of a solid basis for this - we can turn the corner through continued care and caution and stringent compliance with existing mitigations and without having to reintroduce any tighter restrictions.
"But to do that - as has been the case throughout the pandemic - we need the help of every business and individual across the country."
She urged people and businesses to stick to the restrictions still in place.
Ms Sturgeon also urged people to get vaccinated, as the latest daily figures showed 4,130,841 people have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccination and 3,749,767 have received their second dose.
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