Coronavirus in Scotland: 27 new Covid-19 cases but no deaths recorded for ninth day in a row

Scotland has recorded no Covid-19 deaths for nine days in a row but another 27 people have tested positive for the virus.

The latest Scottish Government figures, published at 2pm on Saturday, put the total number of confirmed cases at 18,547 while the number of people who have died after testing positive for coronavirus remains at 2,491.

However, weekly data published by National Records of Scotland show there have been 4,193 deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on someone's death certificate, as of Sunday July 19.

The latest government daily figures show that nine new cases have been recorded in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, with eight new cases in NHS Lanarkshire, three new cases each in NHS Lothian and NHS Grampian, one in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, one in NHS Borders, one in NHS Fife and one in NHS Tayside.

A further 27 Covid-19 cases have been recorded in Scotland.

The latest figures also show that 270 people with a confirmed case of the disease are currently in hospital, with two of them in intensive care.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is due to provide an update on lockdown easing in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday.

But the country's national clinical director, professor Jason Leitch, said it was unlikely that any major changes would be announced.