Coronavirus update: Further signs of a sustained decrease in cases
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Scotland saw a slight fall in positive cases overnight as a total of 1480 cases were recorded in the last 24 hours compared to 1636 the previous day.
This equated to 6.9per cent of those tested (7.0 the previous day).
A further 71 deaths were noted in the last 24 hours with Covid as a contributing factor.
The NHS Greater Glasgow area saw 427 cases (510), Lanarkshire 273 (328) and Lothian 166 (182).
NHS Grampian saw cases rise to 128 (104) while NHS Highland's rose again slightly to 46 (42).
The NHS Grampian area recorded 888 cases in the last seven days taking the overall total to 11,724.
Public Health Scotland's most up to date figures cover the seven days between January 13 and January 19 show Aberdeenshire recorded 310 positive cases (down from 3333 the previous day) which equated to 6.4 per cent of all tests carried out (down from 6.9r cent) and a positive test rate per 100,000 population of 118.7 (down from 127.5).
For the same time period, Aberdeen City saw 437 cases (down from 485) equating to 8.9 per cent of all tests (down from 9.8) and positive test rate of 191.1 per 100,000 (down from 212.1).
In the daily area figures the sustained fall in cases continued to be seen across Aberdeenshire and the first signs of a drop in Aberdeen City were also noted.
Speaking at the daily briefing the First Minster highlighted further support for those on low incomes
She explained: "Many families right now are struggling to make ends meet because of disruption to jobs – many will have lost jobs and this is a difficult time financially and economically for many.
"What we know is that, that difficulty that people will have been facing is increasing and the further measures during this lockdown will have increased that further.
"So today, I want to highlight an additional source of support that will soon be available to many parents and carers.
"It’s something that was planned before the pandemic so it’s not as a result of the pandemic but I think the importance of it is even greater given what everybody is living through right now.
"And of course I am referring to the new Scottish Child Payment.
"The Scottish Child Payment is designed to help families who are struggling financially.
"Those on the lowest incomes.
"You’re eligible for it, if you receive certain tax credits and benefits.
"And, it will be worth an additional £40 – every four weeks – initially it is payable for every child under the age of six.
"In the fullness of time we’ll roll it out to all children but in the initial stages it is available for children under six.
"To date, since applications opened we’ve received 63,000 applications for the new payment.
"The reason why I am flagging it up today is to hopefully reach anybody who might be eligible who hasn’t yet applied because if you apply in good time, you can ensure that your payments are calculated from the start date – which is the 15th February.
"So if you want to find more – perhaps you want to check if you might be eligible or if you already know you are eligible and want to apply because you haven’t already done so – you can go to the website mygov.scot/benefits or you can call this number 0800 182 2222.
"We believe that the Scottish Child Payment will be a game-changer, in the fight against child poverty.
"That’s something that campaigners against child poverty have also said and in the coming weeks, we hope it will help provide families who have been hardest hit by the pandemic, with some much-needed extra financial support."
