SCOTLAND'S coronavirus R rate could be back up at 1.3, says Nicola Sturgeon.

The First Minister has often talked about the importance of keeping the crucial number below one.

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Scotland had managed that some weeks ago – and in mid-June it was thought to be as low as 0.6.

But Ms Sturgeon today admitted that the R rate may have crept back up to 1.3.

Coronavirus Scotland: Aberdeen outbreak hits 182 with Glasgow cluster linked to Bannerman High School at eight

However she insists the reliability of the figure is affected when prevalence of the virus goes down to the levels that it has in Scotland.

Also, the large outbreak in Aberdeen will have had an impact.

The R number signifies the average number of people an already infected person will pass the virus on to.

She said: "We will as usual publish our weekly report on the R number later today, and to remind people the R number is the average number of people who will be infected by any one other infectious person.

"Now, I've said this before and I think this is a point that needs to be stressed today – that the R number does become less reliable as an indicator as the number of cases across the country decreases.

"And that fact is reflected in the latest figures which widens the possible range of the R number in Scotland.

"This weeks range includes the possibility that the R number last week was above 1. My information is at this stage provisional, it won't be confirmed until later this afternoon, but the upper estimate last week could have been as high as 1.3.

"Now this is due, possibly in large part, to the inclusion of the Aberdeen outbreak in some of the models that we consider. Now let me stress again when the prevalence across the country is low, the R number will be disproportionately affected by outbreaks on the scale of the one in Aberdeen."

It comes as the First Minister also told us the cluster in the Granite City has now risen to 182 confirmed cases.

The outbreak, which has seen restrictions reimposed and then extended on the city, has seen another five cases overnight.

And almost 1,000 close contacts have been traced by health teams in Aberdeen.

In Glasgow, a spike linked to Bannerman High School sits at eight positive cases.

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