Coronavirus latest: Over 5,000 people have now died in Scotland having tested positive

Over 5,000 people have now died in Scotland having tested positive for coronavirus.

Nicola Sturgeon announced 54 new deaths at her briefing on Tuesday afternoon, with another 1,875 positive tests in the 24 hours before.

The First Minister said 153,423 people have now tested positive in Scotland, up from 151,548 the previous day.

The daily test positivity rate is 12%, up from 11.5% on the previous day.

Of the new cases, 607 are in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 280 in Lanarkshire, 214 in Lothian, and 162 in Ayrshire and Arran.

There are 1,717 people in hospital confirmed to have the virus, up 53 in 24 hours.

Of these patients, 133 are in intensive care, an increase of seven.

The new deaths announced on Tuesday take the total number in Scotland under that measure to 5,023.

According to National Records of Scotland (NRS), as of January 3, there have been a total of 6,686 deaths registered in Scotland where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

The numbers differ as the NRS total includes those who have not had a positive test recorded.

New figures will be released tomorrow to cover the last week.

Further restrictions?

Ms Sturgeon said that case numbers were stabilising but were still at a level that “aren’t good enough.”

She said the cabinet are continuing deliberations over tightening restrictions.

Ministers met early on Tuesday but the First Minister hinted that no decision was reached.

She is due to update the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday, where any decision is expected to be announced.

She said: “As I indicated yesterday, one of the things we discussed was whether there are any areas – takeaway, click-and-collect services being two examples – where we think there is a need to further tighten restrictions to reduce occasions and reasons for people to be out of their homes at the moment.

“We are continuing to consider these options a little bit further and I can tell you I will update parliament tomorrow on any decisions that we reach over the course of the day.”

Travel

One measure that has been confirmed is that travellers coming to Scotland will need to show proof of a negative test from Friday.

Those arriving in the country after 4am on Friday will need evidence from the past three days that they have tested negative.

Ms Sturgeon stressed that the test will need to be “highly reliable”, most likely meaning it will have to be a PCR test.

Young children may be exempt from the requirement.

She said: “I want to be very clear here, this requirement for testing before entry to the country is seen not as a substitute for the protections and mitigations in place, but as an addition to those.

“Testing before entry to the country is not a magic solution to the risk of cases being imported, so it will reinforce rather than replace our current travel restrictions.”

Those travelling from countries not on the quarantine exemption list will still need to self-isolate on arrival.

Ms Sturgeon said that anyone travelling in and out of Scotland should only be doing so if they have a “genuinely essential purpose for doing so.”