Another 71 deaths from coronavirus registered in Scotland

Scotland has recorded a further 71 deaths from coronavirus, the First Minister has said.

At Friday’s daily briefing, Nicola Sturgeon said the total number of deaths after confirmed coronavirus in Scotland now stands at 5628.

There were 1480 new cases of Covid-19 reported, with 2053 people currently in hospital with the virus.

Of that number, 161 people were in intensive care.

She added that 169,699 people have now tested positive in Scotland, up from 168,219 the previous day.

The daily test positivity rate is 6.9%, down from 7% on the previous 24 hours.

Sturgeon added that 358,454 people have now received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

During the briefing, the First Minister announced extra funding to support health and social care workers.

Nicola Sturgeon said £500,000 would be given to health boards and health and social care partnerships to implement requests from staff, such as free hot drinks or snacks during breaks.

The First Minister said it “could be the little things that help quite a lot”.

She added: “I’m flagging this up today just as a way of underlining how much we owe our health and care workers, but also as an example of what we’re trying to do to support them in practical ways while they continue to perform such an incredible service for all of us.

“I don’t think we’ll ever be able to repay those on the front line of health and social care for everything they have done and everything they have suffered over the duration of this pandemic.

“But in every way we can, it’s important to support them and to show our gratitude.”