Scotland saw the largest increase in Covid cases in the UK last week, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It estimates about 250,700 people – one in 20 – had the virus in the week ending 17 June.
That is an increase on the previous week when about 176,900, or one in 30 people, had Covid.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it would be sensible to wear face coverings indoors as cases increased.
By comparison, about one in 40 people in England had the virus last week, one in 45 in Wales and one in 30 in Northern Ireland.
The latest ONS Coronavirus (Covid-19) Infection Survey said the increase in the number of people testing positive was likely being driven by the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants.
They are not thought to be more lethal than any other form of Covid but they do appear to be spreading more quickly.
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It follows data published by Public Health Scotland earlier this week which reported a 30% jump in infections in the week ending 19 June.
Wastewater testing is also suggesting increasing levels of the virus circulating in the community.
And hospitals are reporting a rising number of Covid-positive patients, with 931 recorded on Monday – up from less than 600 at the end of May.
However, the figure is still much lower than those recorded in the spring, when there were upwards of 2,000 patients with Covid in Scotland's hospitals.
Ms Sturgeon said people should continue to be cautious.
But she told BBC Scotland the public needed to learn to live with the virus and she did not want to reimpose restrictions.
"We need to all of us be sensible and take precautions," she said.
"It's no longer, for example, a requirement to wear a face covering in an indoor place but right now when cases are rising again, it would be a sensible precaution to wear a face covering if you're in an indoor place with crowds of people around you.
"We've all got out of the way of doing that in recent weeks, it's perhaps sensible in the next few weeks to get back into the way of doing that."
'I had Covid myself'
She said it was also important that people were up to date with their Covid vaccinations.
"I had Covid myself a few weeks ago, I would not like to have had it pre-vaccination because it wasn't pleasant post-vaccination," she added.
"Vaccination prevents serious illness so my other message is if you're not up-to-date with all your doses of vaccine, make sure you come forward and get them now.
"We need to pull together as a country and get through these challenging peaks in Covid cases when they arise."
PA MediaPublic health expert Prof Linda Bauld said the latest ONS data suggests Scotland was experiencing another spike of infection.
"I think people know this in their communities because they're hearing people who have picked up Covid for the first time or a second time," she told BBC Radio Scotland's Lunchtime Live.
She said part of the reason for the rise in cases was because infection levels did not hit the low that was hoped for earlier in the summer.
"If you look back to mid-April for example, we were still at around one in 20, one in 25, then it declined a little bit – now it's gone back up again. I think the main reason for that is reinfection and the different bits of the Omicron family that we're dealing with," she said.
However, she pointed out that the number of patients with Covid being treated in intensive care remains low.
She said that was because the vaccine was preventing the virus from causing severe disease.
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