Covid cases hit a record high

Covid statistics today show a further 34 new cases have been recorded, the highest daily total so far.

In total there have been 14 Omicron variant cases reported over the last month in the isles.

Across Scotland 16,857 new cases were confirmed today (Thursday) with nine reported deaths, 34 people remained in intensive care and 810 people remain hospitalised.

The rolling, seven day figure of confirmed covid cases in Shetland between the 21st and 27th December now stands at 108.

There had been a backlog of results built up over the Christmas period but Public Health Scotland said today it is “continuing to see improvements in turnaround times, and are continuing to monitor the situation”.

It added: “There continues to be large volumes of tests being processed by labs; this and the festive period have impacted turnaround times resulting in delays between specimens being taken and results being received and reported.”