Surge in Covid infections and spike in hospital admissions in Scotland

A surge in Covid cases across the country has prompted the nation’s health body to return to weekly updates on the spread of the virus.

Data from Public Health Scotland shows the number of reported coronavirus cases stood at 1,040 in the week ending June 23, up from 441 at the start of the month.

The figure represents a big increase compared to the same time last year when Covid cases hovered between 398 at the start of June 2023 before falling to around 200 by the end of the month.

The number of Covid hospital admissions has also spiked by 36.4%, with 410 people being admitted as of the week ending June 23.

The agency usually releases new data on coronavirus every four weeks during the spring and summer as the spread of the disease naturally falls but has now switched to weekly reported.

But PHS said it had detected the increase in Covid in wastewater for several weeks which it said was accompanied by a rise in laboratory-confirmed PCR and self-reported cases.

Although there has been a significant increase in hospital admissions, PHS said rates remain below recent peaks in spring and winter 2023.

In an effort to lower the number of Covid-19 cases, the PHS said on its website: “Maintaining proper hand and respiratory hygiene can help protect against numerous common viruses.

“If you have symptoms of a respiratory infection and feel unwell, or have a fever, you should stay at home and avoid contact with other people.”