Covid cases drop in nearly 75% of Scotland, figures reveal

Coronavirus case rates have fallen across 75% of local authorities in Scotland, new figures show.

Of the 32 local areas, eight (25%) have seen a week-on-week rise in case rates, while 24 (75%) have seen a fall.

East Ayrshire had the highest rate in the country, up from 154.9 to 252.4, with 308 new cases.

This was followed by Clackmannanshire, which was up from 163.0 to 221.2, with 114 new cases.

Stirling had the third highest rise, up from 130.6 to 159.2, with 150 new cases.

The report also shows case rates have fallen in nearly 95% of local authorities across the whole of the UK.

Of the 380 local authorities areas across the UK, only 23 (6%) have seen a week-on-week increase in case rates compared with 354 (93%) where the rates have fallen.

The highest case rate in the UK was in Corby, Northamptonshire, with 277 new cases recorded in the seven days to February 10 – the equivalent of 383.6 cases per 100,000 people.

This was down from 468.0 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to February 3.

The figures, for the seven days to February 10, are based on tests carried out in laboratories and in the wider community.

The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people.

Data for the most recent four days (February 11-14) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.