ONE in 17 people in Scotland have Covid, but there are signs that the latest wave is slowing.
The latest surveillance by the Office for National Statistics estimates that 312,800 people in Scotland had the infection in the week ending June 30 - equivalent to one in 17 people in the population.
Virus rates in Scotland continue to exceed the rest of the UK.
In England, one in 25 people are estimated to have Covid, compared to one in 20 in Wales and one in 19 in Northern Ireland.
The BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sublineages now appear to be causing arund 85 per cent of UK cases, including in Scotland where there was competition from the BA.2.12.1 strain dominant in the United States.
However, there are signs that the latest Omicron wave may now be running out of steam.
The infection rate in Scotland climbed rapidly from one in 50 at the end of May to one in 20 by the middle of June.
However, over the most recent two weeks the increases have slowed to one in 18 in the week ending June 24 and now one in 17.
Sarah Crofts, who works on the ONS's Covid-19 infection survey, said there was a continued rise across all UK countries, English regions and age groups.
She added: "Scotland continues to have the highest infection rate, although it has recently increased at a slower rate compared to other UK countries.
"We will continue to monitor the data to see if this recent rise is starting to slow in Scotland."
Separate figures published by Public Health Scotland earlier this week show that the number of people in hospital who have tested positive for Covid had increased to 1,538 by July 3, compared to 590 at the end of May.
However, analysis suggests that only around 30% are in hospital with Covid as their primary diagnosis.
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