New figures show there have been more coronavirus deaths in Tayside’s care homes than the region’s hospitals since the beginning of the pandemic.
The latest National Records of Scotland (NRS) data shows that as of Sunday a total of 3,911 deaths registered in Scotland have been associated with Covid-19 since the start of the outbreak.
The total number of deaths across Tayside and Fife between May 25 to May 31 – where the virus was mentioned on the death certificate – was 21.
A regional breakdown shows that 289 Scottish Covid-19 deaths registered since the start of the pandemic were in Tayside and 189 in Fife; taking the toll for Courier country to 478 since the pandemic began.
Of the overall Tayside death toll: 157 deaths were in Dundee, 66 were in Angus, and 66 were in Perth and Kinross.
More Covid-19 deaths in Dundee and Angus care homes than hospitals
A breakdown of the figure for Tayside shows that to date 139 of the deaths in Tayside linked to Covid-19 were in care homes, 124 were in hospitals and 26 were in homes or non-institutional settings.
In Dundee there were 78 Covid-19-linked deaths in care homes, compared to 64 in hospitals and 15 in other locations. In Angus, 41 were in care homes, 19 in hospitals and six in other settings.
The figure for Perth and Kinross shows 20 care home deaths, 40 in hospitals and five in in homes or non-institutional settings.
In Fife there were 69 deaths in care homes, 103 in hospitals and 17 in other settings.
Last week’s NRS figure, which was valid up to May 24, showed 457 Covid-19 deaths across Tayside and Fife since the pandemic began.
Of the Tayside figure: 149 deaths were in Dundee, 62 were in Angus, and 65 were in Perth and Kinross, and 181 in Fife.
Fifth reduction in Scottish coronavirus deaths in a row
Across the whole of Scotland there were a total of 131 Covid-19 deaths registered between May 25 and May 31, a decrease of 99 on the week before. This is the fifth weekly reduction in Scottish coronavirus deaths in a row.
46% of Covid-19 deaths in Scotland last week took place in care homes.
The NRS figures include all cases where Covid-19 is mentioned in a person’s death certificate and are distinct from the daily figures produced by Health Protection Scotland (HPS), which have so far included only individuals who have died within 28 days of testing positive for the virus.
This method recorded 3911 deaths in Scotland linked to Covid-19 as of May 31, compared to the 2,375 fatalities recorded by the HPS system at the time.
