Coronavirus: 18 new infections recorded in Scotland

There are 18 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in Scotland but it is now 16 days since any deaths were reported.

It comes after 30 new Covid-19 infections were reported in the country on Friday, the biggest daily jump for two months.

Cases have risen moderately in recent weeks, although there has also been a marked increase in testing figures.

A total of 15,382 tests were completed in the last 24 hours, with the 18 positive cases identified making up 0.5% of newly-tested Scots.

Out of those new infections, three were in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area, where officials are investigating a cluster of cases in Inverclyde.

As of Friday, 13 cases were linked to the cluster. It is unclear whether any of these three new cases are associated with the outbreak.

The health board confirmed one of the 13 cases had a link to the earlier cluster which originated at a Sitel call centre in Lanarkshire.

Zero deaths among confirmed Covid patients have been reported for the 16th day in a row, by far the longest stretch of no fatalities Scotland has seen over the course the pandemic.

However, separate figures tallied weekly by National Records of Scotland – which also include suspected coronavirus deaths – show eight deaths linked to the virus in the week ending July 26.

Combining confirmed and presumed Covid deaths, the toll in Scotland stands at 4201.

Saturday’s statistics show 260 patients in hospitals across the country with coronavirus, a rise of five on the day before.

Of those, three are being treated in intensive care, a decrease of one.