Coronavirus: Eight deaths and 639 cases recorded in 24 hours

A further eight coronavirus deaths have been recorded in Scotland in the past 24 hours.

The death toll under this measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – is now 7508.

A further 639 positive cases were also reported by the Scottish Government.

A total of 209,068 people have tested positive in Scotland since the start of the pandemic.

There are 479 people in hospital confirmed to have Covid-19, 33 fewer than on Monday.

Of these, 38 were in intensive care.

As of Saturday morning, a total of 1,867,123 people in Scotland have received their first dose of vaccine – an increase of 22,487 from the previous day – and 156,250 have received their second dose.

The latest figures come exactly one year after the first coronavirus death in Scotland was recorded.

On March 13, 2020, Scotland’s then chief medical officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood, said she was “saddened to report” a patient being treated for Covid-19 had died.

At the time, the number of people with the virus in Scotland was 85, out of 3314 tests.

The death was announced as safety fears prompted the cancellation of events at that time, including the Scottish Football Association announcing all fixtures were to be postponed.