Covid cases in Grampian more than double in a day

The First Minister and Professor Jason Leitch have sought to reassure North East residents after a jump in Covid cases in the region.

49 new cases were reported yesterday, with 122 new registered cases today.

But at the daily briefing, Professor Jason Leitch said those stats need to be taken in context:

He said:

"They are up today."

"It's a single day so it's important not to under or over react to that."

"Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire do appear over a seven day period to have flattened."

"There are some food processing outbreaks, that are being very well handled by the public health community and the owners of those establishments."

"Some extra testing in those places, which will inevitably kick those up."

"What we need to discuss with the director of public health is community transition vs outbreaks, and we will continue to do that."

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:

"We've seen in the last week, or slightly more, increases in figures in both Aberdeen City and Shire."

"That has meant it has not been possible to take Aberdeen or the Shire down a level."

"But, we've not yet considered it necessary to take them up a level."