Summary

  • First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is hosting a media briefing at the end of a week that has seen the number of Covid cases in Scotland surge to record highs

  • There have been a further 6,835 new cases of the virus recorded - by far the highest figure since the pandemic began

  • The previous record high was the 5,021 cases that were recorded on Wednesday

  • Ms Sturgeon says the government is not considering introducing a so-called circuit breaker lockdown to try to limit the spread of the virus

  • The number of people in hospital has increased by 52 to 479, with 17 people in intensive care

  • The deaths of a further four people who had recently tested positive for the virus have also been recorded

  • Some NHS boards have postponed non-urgent surgery and many schools have been hit by outbreaks

Live Reporting

BBC Scotland News

  1. New daily record of 6,835 positive Covid tests recorded
    Breaking

    Nicola Sturgeon begins with an update of the latest coronavirus figures.

    The first minister confirms that a further 6,835 people have tested positive for Covid – which is 14.2% of the tests carried out yesterday.

    That is a record high, topping the previous highest figure of 5,021 on Wednesday.

    There are 479 people in hospital with recently confirmed Covid-19, an increase of 53, and 47 in intensive care, which is the same as yesterday.

    There have also been four more deaths recorded in the past 24 hours of people who tested positive in the previous 28 days.

    That brings the total number of deaths by that measurement to 8,103.

  2. Coming up...

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    First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is set to begin her latest briefing on the how the Covid pandemic is affecting Scotland.

    Ms Sturgeon will, as usual, confirm the latest positive case numbers, deaths and hospitalisations.

    Along with national clinical director Prof Jason Leitch, she will then take journalists' questions.

    You can follow the latest developments here and watch or listen to coverage on the BBC Scotland channel or BBC Radio Scotland by clicking on one of the tabs above.

  3. How successful has the push to jab younger people been?

    teenager being vaccinatedGetty Images

    Nearly half of Scotland's coronavirus cases are in people under 25, with more than a third being detected in the under 19s.

    The campaign to convince teenagers to get vaccinated is ongoing, but just how successful is it?

    Our analysis is here

  4. Call for younger secondary school pupils to be vaccinated

    school pupilsGetty Images

    A teachers' union has said all secondary school pupils should be vaccinated amid concerns that case numbers among young people are set to spike.

    More than a third of Scotland's coronavirus cases are being detected in people under the age of 19.

    Cases in the 12-15 group are expected to rise sharply after pupils returned to classrooms earlier this month.

    That has led to calls for an extension of mitigations - including jabs for younger teenagers.

    Read more here

  5. Study suggests vaccine complications far outweighed by virus risks

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    A major review of vaccines suggests the AstraZeneca jab does raise the risk of blood clots and another serious condition that can cause bleeding.

    But the study found the risk of such problems following a coronavirus infection was still much higher.

    The University of Oxford-led team also found an increased risk of stroke after the Pfizer jab - but again at a much lower rate than after infection.

    The team said it once again showed the "substantial" benefit of vaccination.

    Find out more here

  6. FM to give update after record number of daily Covid cases

    school pipilsGetty Images

    The first minister will give her latest briefing at the end of a week which has seen the highest number of daily positive cases recorded since the start of the pandemic.

    A total of 5,021 new cases of the virus were reported on Wednesday, which a record high for the second day running.

    The government says the spike in figures is partly being fuelled by the return of schools after the summer holidays.

    Read more here

  7. Welcome

    Good afternoon and welcome to BBC Scotland's rolling coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in Scotland on Friday 27 August 2021.

    Nicola Sturgeon will be giving a briefing from 12:15 on the latest developments around the coronavirus crisis.

    Joining the first minister will be national clinical director Prof Jason Leitch.

    You can follow the latest developments right here and watch or listen live by clicking on one of the tabs above - for coverage on the BBC Scotland channel or BBC Radio Scotland.