ANOTHER life has been lost to Covid-19 in East Renfrewshire.

Latest figures released by National Records of Scotland (NRS), covering the week ending September 18, show the total number of fatalities in the area since the pandemic began more than two years ago has risen to 308.

It is the first time in three weeks that East Renfrewshire has recorded a Covid fatality.

Across Scotland as a whole, 19 of the 32 council areas had at least one fatality involving Covid last week as the death toll rose by 40, pushing the overall total up to 15,702.

Worst hit was West Lothian, which had five deaths, followed by Fife and Perth and Kinross, each of which had four.

Of the 40 fatalities recorded across the country, 30 involved people aged 75 or older, while four were aged 65 to 74 and six were under 65.

The majority of deaths (31) took place in hospitals, with six in care homes and three at home or a non-institutional setting.

The NRS statistics include suspected or probable cases of Covid.

According to NRS, 93% of all those who died with Covid between March 2020 and August this year also had at least one pre-existing condition, with the most common being dementia or Alzheimer’s disease (22%).