Another life was lost to Covid in East Renfrewshire last week.

Latest figures from National Records of Scotland, covering the week ending October 3, show the total number of fatalities in the area since the pandemic began 18 months ago has increased by one to 238.

The previous week, East Renfrewshire recorded five deaths – the highest increase for more than seven months.

A total of 28 out of Scotland’s 32 council areas had at least one Covid death in the latest weekly figures.

Glasgow was worst hit, with 17 deaths recorded, followed by Edinburgh (15) and South Ayrshire (13).

The figures include all fatalities registered where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate and, as this includes suspected or probable cases, it differs from the lab-confirmed coronavirus deaths announced daily by the Scottish Government.

Across Scotland as a whole, the death toll increased by 141 in the latest weekly figures and now stands at 11,134.

Most of the deaths (84) recorded in the latest weekly figures involved men, while 57 were women.

A total of 22 of those who lost their life were aged under 65, while 30 were aged between 65 and 74 and there were 89 deaths in people aged 75 or over.

Of the 141 deaths recorded, 109 took place in hospitals, while 23 were in care homes and nine were at home or in a non-institutional setting.