More than 48,000 people have been vaccinated against Covid in Scotland during the past 24 hours, the third day the country has recorded its highest daily total in a row.

Speaking during a daily briefing on the state of the pandemic in Scotland, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said that 48,165 first-dose vaccinations had been delivered as of 8.30am this morning.

The increase is the largest daily increase since the vaccination programme began - and double that recorded last Friday.

At the same time, the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 has risen by 895.

However, the test positivity rate was recorded as 4.9 per cent for the second day in a row - below the 5% level the WHO deems to indicate a pandemic under control.

The 'R' number, which denotes the rate of infection, is thought to be between07 and 0.9 - something Mr Swinney said indicated the "huge progress" being made in the effort to curb the virus. 

The 5% figure is significant as the World Health Organisation recommended in May that the percent positive remain below that level for at least two weeks before governments consider reopening. 

There were 61 new deaths registered during that time, taking the overall toll to 6383.

A total of 1794 patients are being treated in hospital - a fall of 18 in 24 hours, with 123 being treated in intensive care, a drop of four.