New Covid hotspots in Edinburgh have been identified as Scotland eases Omicron restrictions from Monday January 24, as announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in her speech today.
The First Minister spoke in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday (January 18) where she confirmed a number of measures brought in to tackle the omicron wave will be removed.
Last week the FM had stated that the limitations on outdoor gatherings would be removed, with restrictions in indoor settings such as hospitality and entertainment to remain.
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However, with the pandemic now taking a "much more positive course", Nicola Sturgeon confirmed a large proportion of the remaining rules will be removed.
These include social-distancing rules, the closure of nightclubs and table service in hospitality venues.
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Speaking at Holyrood, the FM said: "The remaining statutory measures introduced in response to Omicron are as follows; limits on attendance at indoor public events; the requirement for 1 metre physical distancing between different groups in indoor public places; the requirement for table service in hospitality premises serving alcohol on the premises; and the closure of nightclubs.
"Given the improving situation - and as I said last week we hoped to be able to do - I can confirm today that all of these measures will be lifted from next Monday, 24 January.
"We will also from Monday remove the guidance advising adults against non- professional indoor contact sports, so that these can resume as normal.
"And from Monday we will also lift the guidance asking people to stick to a 3 household limit on indoor gatherings.
However, with omicron transmission rates still high in the population, the FM asked the public to still "remain cautious" in their social interactions "at this stage."
Scotland has recorded 31 coronavirus-linked deaths and 7,752 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, data published by the Scottish Government on Tuesday shows.
It means the death toll under this measurement, of people who tested positive for the virus in the past 28 days, has risen to 10,093.
Since Thursday January 13, figures published by the Scottish Government include cases identified using either a first lateral flow device or PCR (polymerase chain reaction) positive test.
Over the last week, Scotland has reported 32,280 positive cases of coronavirus since January 9, with a seven day positivity rate of 590.6 per 100,000.
Edinburgh has confirmed 3,258 cases, with a seven day positivity rate of 617.5, 26.9 over the national average.
This has resulted in 17.8 per cent of all tests carried out being recorded as having the virus in the capital.
In Scotland, 18.4 per cent of all tests recorded are positive cases of the virus, a small dip from last weeks ratings of 22.4 per cent.
There are ten neighbourhoods in Edinburgh that are reporting the highest case rates this week, with these including: Craigmillar (92 cases), Drylaw (65 cases), Niddrie (51 cases), Hyvots and Gilmerton (39 cases), Gilmerton South and the Murrays (42 cases), Restalrig and Lochend (41 cases), Muirhouse (57 cases), Bingham, Magdalene and The Christians (34 cases), Clovenstone and Wester Hailes (32 cases), and Dalry and Fountainbridge (73 cases).
13,281 new vaccinations were reported, which is a decrease from yesterdays figure of 20,011. This was made up of 805 first doses, 2,725 second doses, and 9,751 third doses.
Scotland is currently administering an average of 18,502 new vaccinations per day. This is a decrease from this time last week, when 23,218 were being administered a day.
In total, 80.5 per cent of the entire Scottish population has had their first dose, 74.8 per cent have had both doses, and 58.8 per cent have had a third dose. In the past 7 days, 2.4% of Scotland has received a dose.
Clackmannanshire is now the county with the highest level of infections of coronavirus, with 361 cases weekly, and a seven day rate per 100,000 of the population sitting at 703.8, with the national rate average sitting at 590.6.
As for Edinburgh, Craigmillar had a positivity rate of 1,530.5 infections per 100,000 residents. Overall they had 92 infections in the last week.
Drylaw was next with a rate of 1,336.6 new infections over the last week. They had 65 new cases recorded on the PHS heat map.
Niddrie were third with 1,047.9 new infections per 100,000. And they had a total of 51 cases over the week.
Hyvots and Gilmerton recorded a test positivity rate of 1,009.3 in the last week. From all their residents they had 39 cases in the last week.
Gilmerton South and the Murrays was fifth with a rate of 949.2 per 100,000. They had 42 new infections over the past week according to the PHS heat map.
And sixth was Restalrig and Lochend, which had 945.6 in the last week, with a total of 41 new cases recorded in the neighbourhood.
For more information on the latest coronavirus data in Scotland, check out the Public Health Scotland website here.
