A total of 486 people have recorded positive coronavirus tests in Scotland in the last 24 hours, the highest number of cases in a single day, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

Speaking at the Scottish government’s daily news briefing, the first minister said two more people have died after they were confirmed to have COVID-19.

A total of 2,508 fatalities of people testing positive for coronavirus have now been recorded in Scotland.

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However, figures released on Wednesday by the National Record of Scotland – which account for all deaths where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate – showed the true number of deaths stands at 4,247.

Mrs Sturgeon admitted the daily figures were “obviously a real cause for concern” but said they underlined “why we took very decisive and very tough action yesterday to try to get the virus under control”.

In Scotland, people will from Friday be banned from visiting other households inside their homes.

“That is the highest number of positive cases we have ever recorded in a single day,” the first minister added.

“However for context it must be remembered that many more people are being tested now than was the case in the spring.”

Some 25,495 people have now tested positive for the virus in Scotland – up from 25,009 on Tuesday.

Of the new cases, 224 are in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, where Ms Sturgeon said there had been a significant outbreak at the University of Glasgow.

There were also 107 new cases in Lanarkshire and 57 in Lothian.

Scotland has 83 people in hospital confirmed to have the virus, up by 10 in 24 hours.

Of those, 10 were in intensive care.

Ms Sturgeon made a direct appeal to students as she addressed the issue of clusters of infections at a number of universities.

“It’s not yesterday that I was at university, but I still remember what an important stage of life it is and nobody wants you to be living under these restrictions,” she said.

“But it is important that you take care not to put yourselves at risk and obviously not to inadvertently put other people at risk.

“What we’re asking you to do now is for the collective good of everyone, but we do appreciate your sacrifices and thank you for it.”

Warning that Scotland should not be “hamstrung” by the UK government when tackling coronavirus, Ms Sturgeon said she would write to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ask for an extension of the furlough scheme or an extension of powers to the devolved administrations.

In Wales, the coronavirus rate is now 46.8 cases per 100,000, with First Minister Mark Drakeford saying this represented a “clear upward curve”.

At a news conference in Cardiff, he said he was asking people in Wales to “think carefully about where you go and who you are meeting”.

Mr Drakeford said the Welsh government had considered whether to return to the “stay local” regulations that were in force earlier this year, but decided it was “not proportionate”.

“If you can visit a pub or restaurant close to home, where you don’t need to make a journey, that is preferable than getting in your car and going for the same experience further away from home,” he added.

“It is a common sense piece of advice.”

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