Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has pleaded with Scots to “take this seriously” after the rate of coronavirus infection surged in the country. Ms Sturgeon told the coronavirus briefing that the R number, which signifies the average number of people who would be infected by another infectious person, had spiked. The SNP leader went on to explain that the R-number in Scotland is likely to be above 1 and could be as high as 1.4
She opened her briefing by confirming that there had been 101 new positive cases in the past 24 hours, and 53 of those had been in the Greater Glasgow health board area.
Ms Sturgeon then said announced the rise in the R-rate, which means the spread of the virus is increasing, not decreasing in Scotland.
She said: “The virus is spreading again here, just as it is elsewhere in the UK and Europe.”
However, the First Minister insisted that overall prevalence of the virus remains low in Scotland.
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