Ministers will be advised to take a “cautious approach” to lifting the remaining coronavirus restrictions in Scotland, the chief medical officer has said.
Professor Sir Gregor Smith said he is “keeping a close eye on” rising infection levels and hospital cases, although he said there is some early evidence the hospital admission rate is beginning to “top out”.
Scotland’s legal Covid-19 restrictions, including the requirement to wear face masks, are currently due to end on 21 March.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will give a coronavirus update in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday.
Latest figures showed there were 1,805 people in hospital on Sunday with recently confirmed Covid-19, up 142 on the previous day, with 27 people in intensive care; up four.
That is higher than the Omicron peak of 1,571 which was recorded in January this year, with more patients in hospital than at any time since 4 February 2021, when the total was 1,812.
Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Monday, Smith said ministers will make a decision on whether to go ahead with lifting the face mask requirement shortly.
He said data shows some older people are beginning to adapt their behaviour by reducing their contacts slightly, while the use of face masks is also up.
Asked what advice he would give to ministers, he said: “I think that a cautious approach at this point in time is probably the right approach, and we’re already seeing the public adopting those additional protections.”
In the first week of March, an estimated one in every 18 Scots had Covid-19, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.
Smith said: “We’ve been keeping a close eye on these for the last three weeks, and clearly when you see cases begin to increase like this it does give you a little bit of concern.”
Hospital occupancy began to rise around 14 February, he said, adding: “We’re seeing more older population becoming impacted on this occasion, and that’s leading to some longer lengths of stay, which is driving occupancy up as well.”
The Scottish Government said that due to a technical issue, Public Health Scotland has been unable to provide the latest data on cases, deaths and vaccinations.
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