COVID levels in Scotland are at a record high as infections have risen in all four nations of the UK, new figures show.
It is the first time since the end of January that all nations have seen a simultaneous week-on-week increase in infections, and is the clearest indication yet that the virus is once again becoming more prevalent throughout the country.
Scotland has now seen infection levels rise for six weeks in a row, with 299,900 people likely to have had coronavirus last week, the equivalent of one in 18, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This is the highest figure for Scotland since estimates began in autumn 2020, according to analysis.
The previous record was 297,400 people in the first week of this year.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon addresses Covid concerns as cases reach highest level since January
Around one in 25 people in private households in England had Covid-19 in the week to March 5, or 2.1 million people, the figures show.
This is up from one in 30, or 1.9 million people, in the previous week, and comes after three successive weeks where infections in England were estimated to have fallen.
Wales and Northern Ireland both saw a jump in prevalence last week following a period of falling infections, with the estimate for Wales up from 94,200 people to 97,900, one in 30, and Northern Ireland up from 106,300 people to 143,800, one in 13.
Across the UK as a whole, 2.6 million people were estimated to have coronavirus last week, up from 2.4 million.
The number stood at 4.3 million at the start of the year.
The ONS infection survey is the most reliable measure of the prevalence of coronavirus in the UK, and its latest findings provide the clearest indication so far that the broad downwards trend in infections since January has come to a halt.
Estimates for the next few weeks will confirm whether a new upward trend in infections is now under way.
Today's Covid figures for Scotland
Meanwhile on Friday it emerged that Scotland had recorded 22 coronavirus-linked deaths and 13,220 new cases in the last 24 hours.
Since the start of the pandemic 10,969 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, the Scottish Government said.
There were 1663 people in hospital on Thursday with recently confirmed Covid-19, an increase of 27 on the previous day, with 23 people in intensive care, an increase of one.
So far 4,439,695 people have received their first Covid-19 vaccination, 4,166,614 have received their second dose, and 3,461,076 have received a third dose or booster.
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