The number of people attending A&E in Scotland has dropped to a record low.

And in the north-east the number of people visiting A&E units has more than halved since the beginning of March.

There were 11,020 attendances at services in NHS Scotland during the week ending March 29, which is the lowest since weekly records began.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman welcomed this news.

She said: “The number of attendances to A&E this week was the lowest on record since weekly reporting began with 92.2% of people being seen within four hours.

“I would like to thank members of the public for continuing to listen to advice and only going to A&E if illnesses are immediate or life threatening. This is helping to free-up vital resources to allow NHS staff to be redeployed to support the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I would also like to again pay tribute to Scotland’s health and social care staff for their continued hard work and dedication – you are providing an exceptional level of care during these extraordinary times and each and every one of you has my very grateful thanks.

“We are doing all we can to support you – working with health boards and partnerships to ensure robust plans are in place to strengthen capacity and minimise the impact of COVID-19 across the health system.”