HOSPITAL admissions for Covid are growing faster in Ayrshire and the Borders than anywhere else in Scotland.
Figures show that the number of people being treated for the infection in hospital in the NHS Ayrshire and Arran region has increased by 71 per cent in less than two weeks, going from 88 on December 9 to 151 by December 21.
The latest statistics for health board areas will be published later this afternoon.
The East and South Ayrshire council areas were placed under the tightest Level 4 restrictions from November 20 until December 11, but North Ayrshire had remained in Level 3.
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Across NHS Scotland as a whole there are now 1,078 people with Covid in hospital - up from 972 (11%) on December 9.
The measure is known as a 'lag indicator' because it typically takes around two to three weeks between someone contracting the virus and becoming sick enough to require hospital admission.
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In the NHS Borders area, the number of people in hospital with Covid rose 83% between December 9 and 21, from 12 to 22, while Lothian has experienced an increase of 38% over the same period, from 125 to 172 patients.
In NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, where prevalence of the virus had been particularly high in the weeks before Level 4 curbs, the number of people in hospital with Covid has fallen by 4% from 358 to 344.
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