Nicola Sturgeon has reiterated appeals for people to stay at home on Hogmanay as Scotland recorded the highest number of new coronavirus cases since the pandemic began for the third day in a row.

A total of 2,622 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, which comes after 2,045 infections were recorded on Wednesday and 1,895 on Tuesday.

Another 68 fatalities were also reported on Thursday, bringing the death toll in Scotland under this measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – to 4,578.

Seven Covid-19 deaths were recorded between Friday December 25 and Tuesday December 29 – though the Scottish Government noted that register offices were closed over the public holidays – with a further 43 fatalities reported on Wednesday.

In response to the latest figures, the First Minister tweeted: “We have another sharp rise in cases today, which will add to NHS pressure in coming days.

“As predicted, the new strain seems to be speeding up transmission.

“Please stay at home as much as possible – including for the bells tonight – & avoid non-essential interaction with others.”

Police Scotland has also warned people against Hogmanay gatherings which could break current restrictions and potentially spread the virus further.

All of mainland Scotland and Skye remains under Level 4 restrictions, while the other islands are in Level 3.

The latest statistics also show 127,453 people have now tested positive in Scotland, up from 124,831 the previous day, with the daily test positivity rate at 10.1%. On Wednesday it was at 11.3%.

There are 1,174 people in hospital confirmed to have the virus, with 70 in intensive care.