Weekly COVID cases in North Ayrshire have increased, the latest Public Health Scotland data shows.

In total there were 116 cases recorded between February 28- March 6, that’s an increase of 16 from the previous week.

It means North Ayrshire has a weekly case rate per 100,000 of population of 86.1, which would mean it would remain in the Level Three tier of restrictions if the full lockdown were to end today.

Yesterday in Holyrood, the first minister announced the latest changes to coronavirus restrictions. She confirmed that from this Friday four people from up two households will be allowed to meet up outdoors.

Those aged 12-17 years can meet outdoors in a group of up to four people but the two household limit will NOT apply.

Also, outdoor, non-contact sports and organised group exercise is allowed for groups of adults of up to 15 people.

And communal worship will restart from Friday, March 26.

The First Minister last month announced Scotland’s route map out of lockdown, part of which was a move back to the levels system from April 26.

There were, however, some alterations to the strictness of levels.

Under the new system, local authorities which have a case rate of more than 150 cases per 100,000 are likely to end up in level four – when only essential shops can open and hospitality must close.

The previous threshold for level four was 300 cases per 100,000. Cases will need to drop below 50 per 100,000 in a local authority before it will be considered for level two, much lower than the previous rate of 150 per 100,000. That’s the level where non-essential journeys outside the authority area are allowed and pubs can serve alcohol.

Cases are spread amongst the North Ayrshire council area, with three neighbourhoods in the 200-399 per 100,000 category,12 in the 100-199 and four in the 50-99. There are 19 neighbourhoods where cases are classified as having been suppressed.

The number of people who died from COVID-19 in North Ayrshire came down slightly, from 13 to 11, the latest National Records of Scotland data shows.

And on the vaccine front, things have slowed down somewhat, due to a reduction in the amount of vaccine available, something that John Swinney said in Monday’s press briefing will improve in the second half of this month.

The percentage of the area that has received a first dose is now 48.1 per cent (53,996 people), which is a 4 per cent increase on last week. And 2.4 per cent (2,729) of the adult population in North Ayrshire have now received a second dose.