Covid-19 deaths account for nearly one in 10 fatalities in care homes in 2020

The total number of death certificates registered mentioning Covid-19 for care home residents has now reached 95 in Renfrewshire, up six from a week earlier. That is 8.7 per cent of all 1,088 deaths since the start of the year.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) figures released on Wednesday showed an additional seven deaths in hospital for residents of the area. The total is now 190 lives lost, the fifth highest total in Scotland.

But the number of people dying from the pandemic has fallen for the fourth consecutive week.

A total of 3,779 coronavirus-related deaths were recorded in Scotland as of May 24.

There were 230 deaths related to Covid-19 registered between May 18 and 24, a decrease of 105 from the previous seven days and the fourth consecutive weekly drop.

The majority of coronavirus-linked deaths across Scotland in the week to May 24 were in care homes at 54 per cent, down from 55 per cent the previous week.

The number of deaths in care homes also fell for a fourth week in a row, down by 62 in a week to 124.

The NRS figures are published weekly and account for all fatalities registered in Scotland when Covid-19 is mentioned on the death certificate.

They differ from the lab-confirmed coronavirus deaths announced daily by the Scottish Government using Health Protection Scotland (HPS) figures because they include suspected or probable cases of Covid-19.

The total number of deaths registered in Scotland from May 18 to 24 was 1,223, 17 per cent higher than the average number of deaths registered in the same week over the last five years.

There were fewer deaths from respiratory diseases, circulatory conditions and dementia and Alzheimer's compared to the average for this time of year.

As a result, the number of deaths when Covid-19 was the underlying cause - 212 - was greater than the total number of excess deaths for this time of year.

The NRS figures also show 41 per cent of registered deaths involving Covid-19 between May 18 and 24 were in hospitals, up from 38 per cent the previous week, while 4 per cent were at home or in non-institutional settings, down from 5 per cent the week before.

Pete Whitehouse, director of statistical services, said: "Every death from this virus is a tragedy.

"These statistics, alongside the other important evidence being made available by the Scottish Government and Health Protection Scotland (HPS), are valuable to the understanding of the progress and impact of the Covid-19 virus across Scotland.

"These latest figures show that for the fourth week running there has been a reduction in Covid-19-related deaths."

Speaking about the NRS figures, Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs at Holyrood: "These trends, which have now been sustained for over four weeks, do definitely give us grounds for encouragement.

"The weekly number of Covid deaths has fallen by more than 60 per cent from its peak.

"Excess deaths have reduced more than three-quarters and deaths in care homes are also falling."

Read all the latest from Renfrewshire and beyond

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