HEALTH Secretary, Humza Yousaf, has today said that there is "some indication" that travelling Scotland fans are behind the sharp rise in coronavirus cases. 

It is believed that around 20,000 Scotland fans travelled to London via coach, train and plane to watch the eagerly-awaited England v Scotland Euro 2020 match on Friday June, 18. 

Fans made the journey down South despite warnings from politicians, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan, not to travel unless they had a ticket for the game. 

Humza Yousaf has now said that evidence has shown a sharp increase in young men under the age of 40 testing positive for Covid-19 since the event. 

Glasgow Times: Scotland fans gathered in Leicester Square ahead on the England v Scotland match in June 18. Scotland fans gathered in Leicester Square ahead on the England v Scotland match in June 18.

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Yousaf, speaking on BBC Radio Scotland earlier today, said: "We have some indications.

“If you look at the data that’s presented, it’s very clear that it’s skewed disproportionately towards young males, those under 40.

“And again, a number of people, public health experts and others, have commented that that association is probably as a result of greater indoor gathering, which could be of course in effect related to watching the Euros and football.

Glasgow Times: Scotland fans pictured in Leicester Square ahead of the England v Scotland match on June 18. Scotland fans pictured in Leicester Square ahead of the England v Scotland match on June 18.

“So, that might account, but also some of those fans we know that travelled to London, in coaches for example - high-risk, little social distancing if any - that had an impact on the numbers that we’re seeing currently.

"Jason Leitch has spoken publicly that there were over 20 positive cases in one coach travelling back from London. So, I think some of the positive cases are linked to watching football indoors."

Daily cases in Scotland reached an all-time high yesterday, with 3,285 recorded for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. 

When asked if more could have been done to deter fans from travelling, Yousaf said: "We can look back at more we could have done, but we seem to get criticised regularly for putting in place travel restrictions - so one way or another, we would have been criticised for doing too much or not doing enough.

"Other people may have been travelling to London to see family, and would it have been right to punish them for some football fans? We will review these things in the fullness of time but we do regularly ask people to exercise caution."