Scotland's Covid cases continue to drop as around one in 13 have virus

Scotland has seen its second successive weekly drop in Covid infections as the rest of the UK remains near record levels.

Some 396,800 people were estimated to have had the virus in Scotland last week, or around one in 13.

This is down from 451,200 people, or one in 12, the previous week.

Infections in the rest of the UK remain near or at record levels, with only Scotland seeing a slight decrease in numbers.

In England, around one in 13 people were likely to test positive for Covid-19 in the week to April 2, or 4.1 million people – unchanged from the week to March 26.

In Wales, the estimate is up from 212,000 people, or one in 14, to 230,800 people, or one in 13.

Figures also revealed Scotland recorded 35 new Covid deaths and 6215 more cases of the virus in the past 24 hours.

The latest deaths take the overall total for the number of people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 to 11,650.

Daily data from the Scottish Government also showed there were 2252 people in hospital on Thursday with recently confirmed coronavirus, down from 2304 the previous day.

The hospital total includes 23 people in intensive care, with this down from 27 on Wednesday.

Meanwhile 4,369,103 people have received their first dose of Covid vaccine, 4,097,075 have received their second dose, and a total of 3,457,690 have had a third dose or booster jag.

The latest statistics come after most of Scotland’s Covid laws were converted into guidance.

From Easter Monday, the wider legal requirement for wearing face masks – which applies to shops, public transport and some other indoor settings – will finally be relaxed.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had delayed the lifting of the restriction following a spike in cases.

She said the decision was made due to the “very high level of infection and the pressure on the NHS”.

On Friday, Boris Johnson said it would be “irresponsible” to rule out further lockdowns if more deadly Covid variants emerge.

The Prime Minister said he couldn’t rule out something that could help “save lives”.

His comments come amid the nation’s fight against the new Omicron strain, BA.2.