| Good afternoon, No new coronavirus deaths have been recorded in Scotland for the second day running, Nicola Sturgeon has announced. The First Minister told the Scottish Government's coronavirus briefing 2,490 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for Covid-19, no change since Wednesday. However, she said 18,333 people have tested positive for the virus in Scotland – up by 18 from 18,315 on Thursday. This is the highest rise in positive cases in almost three weeks, she said, which the Scottish Government will be “looking very closely” at. Message from the editor While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you. With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription. Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up. Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website. Your feedback is really important, please email me with any comments and suggestions at [email protected] Joy Yates Editorial Director JPIMedia Scotland | 