A TOTAL of 2482 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, up by two from 2480 on Wednesday, Nicola Sturgeon said.
Speaking at the Scottish Government's virtual coronavirus briefing, the First Minister said 18,196 people have tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up by five from 18,191 the previous day.
This marks the second day in a row when new cases have been in single figures, the first time this has happened since March 11, pre-lockdown.
There are 826 people in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, a drop of 54. Of these patients, 18 were in intensive care, a fall of five.
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Nicola Sturgeon said: "This is the second day in a row the number of new cases has been in single figures.
"To put that into context the last time that happened was March 11. So that is a sign of how far we have come and the progress we have made."
The First Minister added that the R number - the average number of people each infectious person passes the virus on to - was still estimated to be between 0.6 and 0.8 in Scotland.
She went on to state the number of people who are believed to be infectious with Covid-19 was thought to have fallen from 2900 to around 2000.
"All of these figures demonstrate again the progress we are all collectively together making in the fight against Covid," she added.
The First Minister cautioned people must remain vigilant to the threat posed by coronavirus.
At her briefing, she spoke about the "risks we still face" as more lockdown restrictions are eased.
Sturgeon said: "My main worry right now is we start to believe the virus has gone away, and that it no longer poses a risk and as a result we all drop our guard and simply go back to life exactly as it was before we were dealing with this epidemic.
"And that would be a mistake and it would be a mistake that is very costly."
She continued: "At every stage we need to remember that the virus has not gone away and it is very, very, unlikely to simply go away of its own accord."
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