Infection rates doubled in a week to one in 20 people estimated to have Covid-19 by the end of December in Scotland.
These latest statistics from the Office of National Statistics for the week ending December 31, show another huge rise in the spread of the virus compared to the week ending December 23 when one in 40 were estimated to have the virus.
That was up again from the previous week when it was one in 65 on December 19.
One in 20 equates to around 238,000 people that test positive on the last week of 2021 - due to the Omicron variant increasing rapidly across Scotland.
The estimates for the latest six-week period are based on 51,568 swab test results collected over this period. During these weeks, there were a total of 795 positive tests from 753 people within 574 households.
Looking at other parts of the UK, infection rates are highest in England with around 1 in 15 people testing positive for Covid - up from one in 25.
Wales has the same infection rate as Scotland - one in 20 - up from one in 40.
Northern Ireland sits at the lowest rate with one in 25 people estimated to have Covid - up from one in 40.
Sarah Crofts, Head of Analytical Outputs for the COVID-19 Infection Survey, said:“The Omicron variant continues to be the dominant variant across all four UK countries where infections have continued to increase rapidly. At the same time, infections compatible with the Delta variant have been decreasing.
“While infections have increased across all age groups in England, there are some early signs of infections no longer increasing among some, including secondary school ages. We will continue to closely monitor this as schools return after the Christmas holidays.”
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