Estimates on the number of people with Covid in Scotland has soared in the last week, according to a study.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has estimated that around 176,900 Scots recently contracted the virus in the week ending June 11 - which equates to one in 30 people.
This figure is a rise from the 124,100 estimated to have become infected with Covid the week previous.
The ONS are able to make these estimates through its Covid Infection Study, where volunteers are asked to test for the virus on a regular basis.
It is the second week in a row where estimates on the number of new infections has risen in Scotland.
But there are fears that this new weekly estimate could be higher that one in 30 figure.
Professor Kao, an epidemiology expert at the University of Edinburgh, told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme, said: “One of the things is that we actually don't know how much Covid is out there, because we no longer do surveillance for it.
"So that one in 30 is probably substantially higher.”
Professor Kao also said that governments were doing “very little” to control the latest wave of the virus.
He added: “We're essentially going about our daily businesses as usual and we are not testing.
"And that not testing means we are not even able to pick up the disease, we also don't know how much is out there."
Officials say that the rise in estimated infections is ‘likely’ due to BA.4 and BA.5 variants, which share similar properties to the original Omicron strain.
Both strains have been identified by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as ‘variants of concern’.
Early data shows that both variants have a ‘growth advantage’ over the currently dominant Omicron BA.2 variant.
It has also been suggested that there is a degree of ‘immune escape’ from the two Covid strains.
The number of people in Scotland’s hospitals with Covid currently stands at 748 as of June 12 - which is a rise on the 716 recorded on the week previous.
A total of 14 people are currently receiving intensive care according to the latest Public Health Scotland data.
Professor Linda Bauld, a professor in Public Health at the University of Edinburgh, described the rise in the number of people in hospital as ‘small but not significant’.
She said that the vaccines are working well in the vast majority of people and are making the difference between the risk from infection and the risk from severe disease.
Professor Bauld told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme earlier this week: "I think it's pretty clear to me from some of the data we've seen that we are certainly in another wave of infection, if not already it will be soon and that certainly seems to be the case in a number of countries, and that is not a big surprise because we did anticipate we would have a rising level of infections every three or four months potentially, that's what international colleagues have said.
"It might be surprising to people though because it's the summer, and they're used to hearing from us (that) the weather is better so people are more outside and therefore we reduce the risks through our behaviour.
"That's true, but what we've got is Omicron and a different type of it, BA.4 and 5 - there's these Omicron sub-lineages which seem to be rising in number in the UK and I think that's part of the explanation why we're beginning to see more cases, and we have seen a small but not significant rise in the number of people in hospital as well."
Are you taking any further precautions amid claims of a new wave of Covid? Let us know in the comment section.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
