According to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), one in 11 people in Scotland had Covid for the week ending March 20.
Cases are said to be on the rise in parts of the UK and Scotland with the figure said to be the highest on record by the ONS.
Whilst research is still ongoing, new data has shown that people who have previously tested positive for the virus could now be at higher risk of developing certain health conditions.
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According to Wales Online, research published in Nature Medicine warns that people who catch the virus are at risk of suffering a stroke, heart failure, angina and cardiac arrest among other conditions - even if they didn't have severe symptoms when infected.
However this risk is said to increase if the infected individual needed to be hospitalised due to the virus.
Researchers analysed data from more than 11 million US veterans, including 154,000 who had covid, and estimated the risks within a year for the 20 diseases. Findings showed that those who had tested positive a year before were at significantly higher risk of the conditions compared to those who had not been infected.
It also discovered that people who had Covid faced a 72% higher risk of heart failure after 12 months, while around 45 more people per 1,000 (4.5%) went on to develop any of the 20 conditions, compared to those uninfected.
Ziyad Al-Aly, the senior study author and chief of research at the VA St Louis Health Care System, said: "We found an increased risk of cardiovascular problems in old people and in young people, in people with diabetes and without diabetes, in people with obesity and people without obesity, in people who smoked and who never smoked.
"What really worries me is that some of these conditions are chronic conditions that will literally scar people for a lifetime. It’s not like you wake up tomorrow and suddenly no longer have heart failure."
What are the conditions that you're at risk of developing if you've had Covid?
- TIA - transient ischaemic attack or 'mini stroke'
- Atrial fibrillation
- Sinus tachycardia
- Sinus bradycardia
- Ventricular arrhythmias
- Atrial flutter
- Pericarditis
- Myocarditis
- Acute coronary disease
- Myocardial infarction
- Ischemic cardiomyopathy
- Angina
- Heart failure
- Non-ischemic cardiomyopathy
- Cardiac arrest
- Cardiogenic shock
- Pulmonary embolism
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Superficial vein thrombosis
Despite its findings, research doesn't show if the Covid vaccines could have an impact as the research was completed before the vaccines were rolled out.
Health experts continue to state that vaccines offer the best form of protection against the virus, with recent data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) showing that booster jabs significantly reduce the risk of death with Omicron.
Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at UKHSA, said: "The evidence is clear – the vaccine helps to protect us all against the effects of Covid-19 and the booster is offering high levels of protection from hospitalisation and death in the most vulnerable members of our society.
"The pandemic is not over yet and the vaccine is the best way to increase your protection against the serious consequences of this virus – please book your appointment for your first, second or third vaccine without delay."
