Covid in Scotland: One in 20 had the virus last week

Scotland saw the largest increase in Covid cases in the UK last week, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

It estimates about 250,700 people - one in 20 - had the virus in the week ending 17 June.

That is an increase on the previous week when about 176,900, or one in 30 people, had Covid.

Meanwhile, NHS Lothian said a fifth of its nursing staff were off work as a result of the virus.

And with a 50% rise in hospital inpatients testing positive in the last week, its services are coming under mounting pressure.

Although rules on mask-wearing have been lifted, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it would be sensible to wear face coverings indoors.

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The latest ONS Coronavirus (Covid-19) Infection Survey said the increase in the number of people testing positive was likely being driven by the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants.

They are not thought to be more lethal than any other form of Covid but they do appear to be spreading more quickly.

About one in 40 people in England had the virus last week, one in 45 in Wales and one in 30 in Northern Ireland, according to the latest figures.

It follows data published by Public Health Scotland earlier this week which reported a 30% jump in infections in the week ending 19 June.

Wastewater testing is also suggesting increasing levels of the virus circulating in the community.

How is the new wave of infections affecting hospitals?

Hospitals are reporting a rising number of Covid-positive patients, with 931 recorded on Monday - up from less than 600 at the end of May.

However, the figure is still much lower than those recorded in the spring, when there were upwards of 2,000 patients with Covid in Scotland's hospitals.

Despite that, NHS Lothian said it was experiencing serious capacity issues as a result of the prevalence of the virus in the community.

Medical director Tracey Gillies said: "The number of hospital inpatients who have tested positive has increased by 50% since a week ago. This presents many logistical issues as they need to be cared for within Covid-19 specific areas."On top of that, and in line with community transmission levels, there are increased numbers of staff testing positive with Covid-19, who must then self-isolate to protect patients."

As a result she said services were "stretched right across the system", including community and social care services.

One major problem is the high number of patients who are medically fit to leave hospital but who cannot be discharged as they have no care in place to support them at home.

The health board asked relatives to consider supporting family members who were medically fit to be discharged but might still need help around the house.

"This helps with the flow of patients through our hospitals and ensures that beds are available for the most urgent of cases," Dr Gillies said.

'Take precautions'

Ms Sturgeon said people should be cautious as Covid levels rise.

But she told BBC Scotland the public needed to learn to live with the virus and she did not want to reimpose restrictions.

"We need to all of us be sensible and take precautions," she said.

"It's no longer, for example, a requirement to wear a face covering in an indoor place but right now when cases are rising again, it would be a sensible precaution to wear a face covering if you're in an indoor place with crowds of people around you.

"We've all got out of the way of doing that in recent weeks, it's perhaps sensible in the next few weeks to get back into the way of doing that."

Nicola Sturgeon was at the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh on Friday

She said it was also important that people were up to date with their Covid vaccinations.

"I had Covid myself a few weeks ago, I would not like to have had it pre-vaccination because it wasn't pleasant post-vaccination," she added.

"Vaccination prevents serious illness so my other message is if you're not up-to-date with all your doses of vaccine, make sure you come forward and get them now.

"We need to pull together as a country and get through these challenging peaks in Covid cases when they arise."