Coronavirus claims lives of six more people in Scotland

Another six people have died with coronavirus in Scotland.

The First Minister said the death toll among confirmed Covid-19 patients has risen to 2470 overnight.

Including suspected deaths, the full toll is 4092.

Speaking at her Friday coronavirus briefing, Nicola Sturgeon said there are 29 new confirmed Covid cases, taking Scotland’s total to 18,104.

There are 904 patients in Scotland in hospitals with confirmed or suspected coronavirus, a drop of 25.

Of those, 19 are in intensive, four fewer than Thursday.

A total of 3961 people hospitalised with the virus have been able to go home since the pandemic started, the First Minister added.

She spoke at St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh against a backdrop featuring the Scottish Government’s new public health slogan.

The former “stay home” message has been replaced by “stay safe, protect others, save lives”.

It comes as Scotland moved into phase two of its route map out of lockdown on Thursday.

This means people living alone can form an “extended household” with the members of one other home from today, while up to three households may meet outside at a time.

The First Minister described the moves as being a “positive change that helps to deal with some of the loneliness and isolation that has been a really cruel feature of the past few weeks”.

She added: “It won’t benefit everyone this change right now, but it will benefit a significant number.

“For example it will allow a grandparent who lives on their own to form a group with another household in their family and see grandchildren. I am sure many are taking advantage of this already.

“It will allow a single parent and their children to join another household for support and it will allow a non-cohabiting couple, if one of them lives alone, to be reunited indoors without the need for physical distancing.”