Fife has recorded the highest number of Covid deaths in Scotland in the
The National Records of Scotland’s weekly statistics for between January 3 and 9 show 72 deaths were registered in Scotland where coronavirus was the cause or suspected cause.
Ten of those deaths were in Fife, more than any other local authority in Scotland.
What do the figures say?
The report says that as of January 9, 12,543 deaths have been registered in Scotland where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
In the seven days to January 9, 72 deaths were registered, an increase of 27 from the previous week.
Of the 72 deaths registered that week, 12 were under the age of 65, 12 between 65 and 74 and there were 48 were over the 75. Forty of those who died were female and 32 were male.
Most died in hospital – 49 in total – and 18 died in care homes. Five were at home or a non-institutional setting.
Fife records highest weekly death toll
Fife recorded 10 of the 72 deaths while Edinburgh followed close behind with eight deaths and Glasgow City recorded seven.
In total 25 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities recorded at least one death last week.
There were six in Perth and Kinross, two in Dundee and one in Angus.
The daily figures from the Scottish Government on Wednesday show 7,606 new cases of Covid-19 were reported, almost 3,000 fewer than Tuesday.
Twenty-one new deaths were reported among those who had tested positive.
The number of people in hospital also continues to increase, 1,537 people were in hospital on Tuesday – a rise of 58.
However, fewer people are in intensive care. The figure decreased by six to 59.
‘Real trend will be clearer in the coming weeks’
Pete Whitehouse, director of statistical services at National Records of Scotland, said: “The latest figures show that last week there were 72 deaths where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. This is 27 more deaths than the previous week.
“The number of deaths from all causes registered in Scotland in this week was 1,208, 13% lower than the five-year average.
“Statistics based on death registrations can be volatile at this time of year due to a combination of registration office opening hours, how public holidays fall, and decisions people take regarding registering a death during this period.
“Care needs to be taken when interpreting data for the first and last few weeks of the year. The real trend will become clearer in the coming weeks.”
