Scotland has recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases in three months, as Nicola Sturgeon said she feels “a greater sense of anxiety today” than at any time “probably for the last couple of months”.

In the last 24 hours, 160 new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded – the highest total since May 16. 

The first minister said the rise in cases was “undoubtedly a concern” but added the numbers were “partly a result of greater numbers of people being tested”.

The majority of the new cases are in the central belt, with 69 in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area and 27 in Lanarkshire.

Sturgeon said the figures in the Glasgow area “seem to reflect a number of small clusters, rather than one or two more significant outbreaks”.

Speaking during the daily coronavirus briefing in Edinburgh, she said an incident management team was looking at a cluster of 22 cases in Ayrshire and Arran, many of which “seem to be linked to indoor gatherings that took place the previous weekend”.

But she stressed the positive results “still represent less than 1% of people newly tested yesterday”.

She said: “The number of cases we are seeing right now is a reminder to all of us the virus is still a very real risk, it is a development that concerns me and it is one we are taking very seriously.

“We mustn’t lose sight of how important it is if we are to keep schools open, build economic recovery and retain a bit more normality in our lives that we do continue to suppress the virus and push as close to elimination of it as we possibly can.”

Last week it was confirmed two people in Scotland had died after testing positive for coronavirus – the nation’s first such deaths in more than a month – bringing the death toll to 2,494.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Scotland is 20,478.