Covid-19 infections fall in Scotland but overall trend remains uncertain

The number of people testing positive in Scotland has fallen slightly in the week ending September 29, but the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has warned the overall trend remains “uncertain”.

It is estimated 109,700 people in private households tested positive for the virus, equating to one in 50 people in Scotland, a slight decrease from the previous week when 113,000 tested positive.

The number of deaths from Covid-19 has also fallen, according to the National Records for Scotland (NRS) data published earlier this week.

The data showed that 36 deaths registered in the week to October 9 mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, nine fewer than in the previous week.

However, the number of people admitted to hospital with Covid-19 has increased, with 838 patients in hospital with Covid-19 on average on the week ending October 9, up from 744 the previous week, Public Health Scotland (PHS) data showed.

This week, Health secretary Humza Yousaf warned we could see another Covid wave this winter.

He said: “The clinical advice I gave to my chief medical officer from the national clinical director is that we should expect another Covid wave this winter.

“When we look at the Office for National Statistics figures for the last couple of weeks, the trend has been relatively uncertain.

“But if we look at some of the other statistics that we’ve got, that helps to give us that broader picture.

“It certainly seems like there’s some variance and we’re starting to see a bit of an uptick in some of our cases, so we’ll keep a really close eye on all of the data from waste water right the way through to ONS and everything in between.

Sarah Crofts, deputy director for the Covid-19 Infection Survey, said: “Infections have risen again across much of the United Kingdom, continuing the pattern of steady increases seen over recent weeks, although Scotland and the North East of England had uncertain trends in the latest week.

“We have also seen another notable rise in infections amongst older age groups in England and Wales, underlining once again the need for close monitoring as we move through the colder months.”