Coronavirus claims the lives of 58 more people in Scotland

Coronavirus has claimed the lives of 58 more people in Scotland.

The death toll, including suspected cases outwith hospitals, now stands at 1833.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said there had been 9409 confirmed cases of Covid-19. A total of 1748 patients are currently in hospital, with 148 being treated in intensive care.

Sturgeon revealed the latest figures during her daily briefing in Edinburgh. She said the fall in number of those in hospital and intensive care are a cause for “real optimism”.

The First Minister said that the Scottish Government was “increasingly confident” that measures put in place were helping to stop the spread of the virus, however she added that some measures could be kept in place for the rest of the year – or even longer.

She said: “As we start to lift the restrictions, the real risk is that Covid-19 runs rampant again.

“So a return to normal as we knew it is not on the cards in the near future and it’s really important that I am upfront with you about that.

“What we must do is find a new normal, a way of living alongside this virus but in a form that keeps it under control and stops it taking the toll we know it can do.”

The First Minister also said that the reproduction rate of the virus must be kept below one, with best estimates putting the figures “somewhere between 0.6 and one”.

Discussing a paper published on Thursday on how Scotland will remove lockdown regulations, the First Minister said the publication was a “first cut”, designed to start an “adult conversation”.

She added that the “science will never be exact” and the Scottish Government will have to make judgments on any measures added or lifted.

The First Minister said that the Scottish Government cannot rule out the possibility of re-applying or strengthening current lockdown measures if cases of the virus grow.

However, Sturgeon said she would be “frank” with the people of Scotland about what the Scottish Government’s thinking is.