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More than half of Scottish engineering firms have reported positive Covid-19 tests among their workforces in the final quarter of the year.

A survey of about 140 companies by industry body Scottish Engineering found 56% "experienced and managed the impact" of a positive test.

More than 40% said productivity was affected by "Covid isolation absence".

Despite this, there was "significant" improvement in orders, output and exports on the previous quarter.

That said, most indicators remained in negative territory.

Confidence overall among companies improved significantly from a net balance of -40% to -9%.

There was also an improvement in staffing, with the percentage of companies planning further redundancies falling from 60% in the previous quarter to 21%.

Scottish Engineering said the latest review provided "some optimism" for 2021, with measures to manage Covid - including a rolling vaccination programme - expected to arrive as early as the spring.

However, it added there was still concern that the hardest hit sectors, such as aerospace and oil and gas, would see slower recovery in the face of weaker demand.

Uncertainty around Brexit was also cited as a concern.

'Preservation plan'

Scottish Engineering chief executive Paul Sheerin said the survey highlighted "positive aspects" but caution remained, particularly "for those areas where recovery looks further away".

He added: "The winter economic support package from the UK government is genuinely welcomed, but come spring we need to ask whether we want to retain the strength we have in these sectors, and act to provide sector specific support to enable their survival.

"Other countries are doing so already, so if we want to retain our current capability, a preservation plan is needed, clear and visible long before the current support ends."