Coronavirus: The Scottish Government Announces its latest Figures

Scotland reports 43 new cases of Covid-19 with no deaths for the last month.

OF the 43 new cases reported, 14 are in the NHS Grampian area, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde recorded nine cases, NHS Lothian reported five and NHS Lanarkshire detected three. The exact figures for infections in Aberdeen is not yet known.

The number of people in hospital with confirmed coronavirus is 243, with three requiring intensive care. It took 11,365 new tests to yield the latest results and as of today, August 16, the total number of confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic now sits at 19,332.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of wrongly banning the bagpipes over fears they spread coronavirus. It is understood that bands across the country are furious that the Scottish government continues to rule out group practice sessions, although they are now permitted in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Scottish government reportedly put a ban in place because of concerns that the instruments could send infectious particles into the air when being played. A similar recent ban on smoking without respect to social distancing is spreading all over the regions in Spain as scientists and doctors say the vapours from smoking and electronic cigarettes also contain harmful particles.