The latest figures detailing the number of people diagnosed with Covid-19 in the last 24 hours in Scotland have been announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport Jeane Freeman and National Clinical Director Jason Leitch at St Andrew’s House.

The statistics in Scotland as at 26 February 2021 are shown below and the number of people vaccinated since yesterday is 26,949.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has said that for Phase 2 of the vaccination rollout, priority groups will be based on age in descending order. They explained that the most important factor in making this most beneficial to public health is to roll the vaccine programme out as quickly as possible. So after the vaccine has been given to those in Priority Groups 1 to 9 the next group will be those aged 40 to 49 and then in decades in descending order. It is thought best to use age rather than occupation as it would make it more complicated to organise.

Professor Wei Shen Lim, COVID-19 Chair for JCVI, said: “Vaccinations stop people from dying and the current strategy is to prioritise those who are more likely to have severe outcomes and die from COVID-19.

“The evidence is clear that the risk of hospitalisation and death increases with age. The vaccination programme is a huge success and continuing the age-based rollout will provide the greatest benefit in the shortest time, including to those in occupations at a higher risk of exposure.”

Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisations at Public Health England (PHE), said: “Delivering a vaccination programme on this scale is incredibly complex and the JCVI’s advice will help us continue protecting individuals from the risk of hospitalisation at pace.

“The age-based approach will ensure more people are protected more quickly. It is crucial that those at higher risk – including men and BAME communities – are encouraged to take the vaccine, and that local health systems are fully engaged and reaching out to underserved communities to ensure they can access the vaccine.”

As at 21 February 2021, 9,347 deaths were registered in Scotland where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate according to weekly statistics reported by National Records of Scotland. Of that number 290 were registered in the last week which is a decrease of 35 on the previous week.

DateNewly reported cases of Covid-19Cases in LothianNew testsTest positivity rate (bold denotes days under 5.0% and the highest this month)Newly reported deathsNumber of deaths according to daily measurementPatients in ICU with confirmed Covid-19Patients in hospital with confirmed Covid-19Total number of positive cases since beginning of pandemicNumber of first vaccinations administeredNumber of daily vaccinations recorded for previous day with highest daily figure in boldNumber of people who have received their second dose of vaccine
26 February 20215811053.3%277,11180924200,9871,542,92926,94965,340
25 February 202176914124,5893.7%317,08489967200,4061,515,98027,90356,661
24 February 2021798133 23,5193.9%477,053931,018199,6371,488,07729,75450,121
23 February 2021655 12316,0314.8%567,006931,076198,8391,465,241 19,79343,203
22 February 202171514012,3596.6%06,950991,141198,1841,445,48813,54637,342
21 February 202182717817,9555.5%56,950991,132197,4691,431,94219,29935,479
20 February 2021803 17219,8824.6%296,9451021,154196,6421,412,64326,49133,473
19 February 20218851634.4%316,916981,222195,8391,386,15231,186
18 February 202168512021,2803.8%576,885951,261194,9541,354,96634,89224,169
17 February 20211,12118124,3435.2%646,828991,317194,2691,320,07432,07020,409
16 February 202177313914,5686.0%49 6,7641001,383193,1481,288,00432,81417,137
15 February 20215591127.0%06,7151021,428192,3751,255,19031,416
14 February 202190317613,8087.3%46,7151041,442191,8161,223,77450,32914,281
13 February 202190810322,2594.9%456,7111101,449190,9131,173,44559,817 14,009
12 February 20218301005.2%676,6661151,472190,005 1,113,628 64,881
11 February 20218308124,1214.0%486,5991091,499189,1751,048,74763,17813,195
10 February 202180310919,4694.8%506,5511131,542188,345985,56957,44712,866
9 February 20218223,3027.2%581121,618187,542928,12261,299
8 February 202192812118,9466.6%56,4431081,672186,720866,82327,557
7 February 2021584729,4796.9%76,4381081,710185,792839,26652,79910,582
6 February 202189513317,9405.9%486,4311171,728185,208786,42743,91510,332
5 February 202189510321,9434.9%616,3831231,794184,313742,51248,1659,529
4 February 20211,14915927,6684.9%536,3221271,812183,418694,34745,0859,031
3 February 202197882 22,8075.1%886,2691281,871182,269649,26238,4848,758
2 February 20217586312,7317.4%696,1811431,939181,291610,77834,881
1 February 202184811124,3469.5%66,1121431,958180,533575,8979,628
31 January 20211,00312114,1638.1%66,1061431,941179,685566,269
Highest and lowest numbers of newly reported cases
since mid December 2020
7 January 20212,64935711.3%781001,467143,715
16 December 20206895.9%38491,03118,644

You can also see the latest numbers laid out visually on the Travelling Tabby website here. It is updated at 3pm daily.

[su_spoiler class=”my-custom-spoiler” title=”International travellers”]Everyone who arrives directly in Scotland by air from outside the Common Travel Area (the CTA, comprising United Kingdom, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands) must:

provide a Coronavirus (COVID-19) test and get a negative result during the 3 days before you travel
before departure for arrivals from Monday 15 February, book and pay for managed isolation in a quarantine hotel for at least 10 days from arrival. This applies to arrivals from all countries outside the CTA and includes British citizens. Book your managed isolation using this booking portal. If you are experiencing any difficulty booking through the booking portal, please ring +44 1274 726424.

complete an online passenger locator form before travelling, and provide contact details, travel details and the address of their final destination. You will need to enter the booking reference for your managed isolation package.
be tested on day of 2 and 8 during of your 10 day quarantine
follow the national rules on Coronavirus in Scotland
[/su_spoiler][su_spoiler class=”my-custom-spoiler” title=”Stay At Home Guidance”]

To minimise the risk of spreading the virus, you must stay at home as much as possible. By law, in a level 4 area, you can only leave your home (or garden) for an essential purpose.
There is a list of examples of reasonable excuses below. Although you can leave home for these purposes, you should stay as close to home as possible. Shop on-line or use local shops and services wherever you can. Travel no further than you need to reach to a safe, non-crowded place to exercise in a socially distanced way. To minimise the risk of spread of Coronavirus it is crucial that we all avoid unnecessary travel.
Examples of reasonable excuses to go out:
for work or an activity associated with seeking employment, or to provide voluntary or charitable services, but only where that cannot be done from your home.
for education including, school, college, university or other essential purposes connected with a course of study.
for essential shopping, including essential shopping for a vulnerable person. You should use online shopping or shops and other services in your immediate area wherever you can.
to obtain or deposit money, where it is not possible to do so from home.
for healthcare, including COVID-19 testing and vaccination.
for childcare or support services for parents or expectant parents.
for essential services, including services of a charitable or voluntary nature such as food banks, alcohol or drug support services.
to access public services where it is not possible to do so, including from home:
services provided to victims (such as victims of crime),
social-care services,
accessing day care centres,
services provided by the Department for Work and Pensions,
services provided to victims (including victims of crime),
asylum and immigration services and interviews,
waste or recycling services,
to provide care, assistance, support to or respite for a vulnerable person
to provide or receive emergency assistance.
to participate in or facilitate shared parenting.
to visit a person in an extended household.
to meet a legal obligation including satisfying bail conditions, to participate in legal proceedings, to comply with a court mandate in terms of sentence imposed or to register a birth.
for attendance at court including a remote jury centre, an inquiry, a children’s hearing, tribunal proceedings or to resolve a dispute via Alternative Dispute Resolution.
for essential animal welfare reasons, such as exercising or feeding a horse or going to a vet.
local outdoor recreation, sport or exercise, walking, cycling, golf, or running that starts and finishes at the same place (which can be up to 5 miles from the boundary of your local authority area) as long as you abide by the rules on meeting other households
to attend a marriage ceremony or registration of a civil partnership.
to attend a funeral or for compassionate reasons which relate to the end of a person’s life. This includes gatherings related to the scattering or interring of ashes, a stone setting ceremony and other similar commemorative events.
if you are a minister of religion or worship leader, for the purposes of leading an act of worship (broadcast or online), conducting a marriage or civil partnership ceremony or a funeral.
to donate blood.
for activities in connection with moving home (including viewing a property), or for activities in connection with the maintenance, purchase, sale, letting, or rental of residential property that the person owns or is otherwise responsible for. Travelling for the purposes of undertaking essential work on a property other than your main residence should not be used as a pretext for a holiday. You should not stay longer than for the length of time required to undertake the necessary work.
to avoid injury, illness or to escape a risk of harm.
for those involved in professional sports, for training, coaching or competing in an event.
to visit a person receiving treatment in a hospital, staying in a hospice or care home, or to accompany a person to a medical appointment.
to register or vote in a Scottish or UK Parliament, Local Government or overseas election or by-election, including on behalf of someone else by proxy
to visit a person detained in prison, young offenders institute, remand centre, secure accommodation or other place of detention.
[/su_spoiler][su_spoiler class=”my-custom-spoiler” title=”Meeting Outdoors”] You can only meet people from another household outdoors and in indoor public spaces for certain reasons, such as for work, to join your extended household, for sport, exercise, social interaction or to provide care and support for a vulnerable person. This can include providing emotional support for someone whose wellbeing is at risk, including for those who are isolated because of disability or a caring situation. Read Coronavirus (COVID-19): advice for unpaid carers
Up to 2 people from 2 separate households can meet outdoors for sport, exercise or social interaction.
Children under the age of 12 from these households do not count towards the total number of people permitted to gather outdoors.
Children under 12 do not need to maintain physical distance from others indoors or outdoors.
The members of an individual or extended household can meet outdoors for sport, exercise or social interaction.
Those at a higher risk of severe illness from coronavirus (including those who had been shielding, people 70 and over, people who are pregnant and people with an underlying medical condition) should strictly follow the physical distancing guidance.
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.