Coronavirus: Three more deaths as cases surge by 934

A further three people have died in Scotland after being diagnosed with coronavirus, the Scottish Government has confirmed.

Total confirmed cases of the virus has risen to 111,546 – a jump of 934 in the past 24 hours.

The Scottish Government explained that the high number of Covid cases reported overnight may be due to a catch-up of a backlog of data due to issues with data transfer from NHS Grampian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde labs over the weekend.

The figures come amid fears a new variant strain is accelerating the spread of Covid in the UK.

On Saturday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that mainland Scotland will be moved into level four – the highest level of lockdown – for three weeks.

Non-essential shops will close, as will cafes, restaurants and hairdressers.

Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles will be moved from level one into level three.

The relaxation of the coronavirus rules over the festive season have also been changed.

Up to three households in Scotland were initially allowed to gather indoors between December 23 and 27. However, the five-day window has now been scaled back to Christmas Day only.

A strict travel ban has also been put in place over the holidays, with cross-border travel between Scotland and the rest of the UK not permitted.

Schools will open for key workers as normal, but the majority of pupils will not return from January 11, with online learning until at least January 18.

The official death toll in Scotland currently stands at 4283, however weekly figures on suspected Covid-19 deaths recorded by National Records of Scotland suggest the most up-to-date total is now at least 6264 – which takes into account this week’s additional deaths.

According to management information reported by NHS boards across Scotland, 1061 people are in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 – an increase of 28 overnight. Out of those, 58 patients are in intensive care.

Of the new cases reported on Sunday, 274 are in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde region, 142 are in Lothian, 128 are in Grampian, 95 are in Ayrshire and Arran, and 87 are in Lanarkshire.

The rest of the cases are spread out across seven other health board areas.