There has been a sharp rise in the number of Covid-19 infections in Scotland, official figures show.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said an estimated one in 35 people in Scotland had Covid-19 in the week up to October 10. Equivalent to about 144,400 people, the figure is a rise from one in 50 people in the week up to September 29 - the most recent previous statistic.
But despite the increase in Scotland, ONS deputy director of the survey, Sarah Crofts, said the trend of infections was still "uncertain". Cases have risen across the UK, except Northern Ireland, according to the survey, with England rising from one in 35 to one in 30 people estimated to have the virus and Wales rising from one in 40 to one in 25.
Ms Crofts said: "Infections have continued to increase across England and Wales, with uncertain trends in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Though infections have increased overall in England, it is a mixed picture across regions and age groups.
"It is too early to say from the data whether overall recent rises are starting to slow, but we will continue to monitor the data closely."
The vast majority of infections have involved the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron variants of Covid-19. These variants do not tend to cause a loss of taste and smell as some earlier variants did; common symptoms include night sweats, cough, fatigue and congestion
The figures come as the number of deaths from the virus in Scotland also saw an increase. National Records of Scotland (NRS) announced on Thursday that 52 death certificates in the country mentioned the virus in the week up to October 16, a jump from 16 the week before.
Predictions of a new winter wave of coronavirus were made weeks ago, when an estimated 98,800 people were thought to have been infected with the virus in one week in September. Scottish health secretary Humza Yousaf told Parliament last month that the government was anticipating a resurgence in flu as well as Covid.
He said: "Yes, we are anticipating a really difficult winter, an exceptionally difficult winter because we expect that we might get a resurgence of flu which we haven't seen in the last couple of years. There is a high possibility we suspect, of course, of another Covid wave."
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