'Pressure on every ward' as coronavirus claims 43 more lives

Another 43 people have died with coronavirus in Scotland, as the country recorded 1314 new cases.

There are 1008 people in Scottish hospitals confirmed to have the virus – 56 of whom are receiving treatment in intensive care.

All of mainland Scotland will go into a level-four lockdown on Boxing Day in a bid to curb spread of the virus, which is being accelerated by new strains.

Scott Davidson, deputy medical director, acute services at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said “pressure” was being felt on every hospital ward.

He told STV News: “Please hang with it, because the pressure on the front line and the NHS remains really very real, very significant.

“We know that it is likely to become even harder just into the new year and into spring, so it is incredibly difficult but I guess if we can just keep going for that little bit longer then it will be worth it.

“Ultimately there is, I think, light appearing. I just ask people to keep going with the restrictions, where they’re in place, because it will benefit everyone.

“We’ve been impacted really very significantly from the very start with Covid and we still have several hundred patients with Covid within our wards in Glasgow and the pressure, you feel it on every ward in every service in every healthcare setting at the moment.”

The death toll of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days is now 4416.

The daily test positivity rate was 5.3%, up from 5% on Wednesday.

The number of new cases reported in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde was 334, while 234 were recorded in Lanarkshire, 203 in Lothian, 128 in Grampian and 112 in Tayside.