‘Sustained signs of hope’ for Scotland
SCOTLAND could now be seeing “sustained signs of hope” in the battle against coronavirus, the First Minister said, after the death toll fell for the second week in a row.
Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the decrease in the number of deaths, but stressed this “doesn’t mean we can relax yet”.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament, she said that if transmission rates continue to fall, Scotland could “gradually relax the lockdown restrictions”.
Weekly figures from the National Records of Scotland (NRS) show there were 415 deaths linked to coronavirus in the seven days up to Sunday, May 10 – down by 110 from the previous week and 244 lower than the total two weeks ago.
The NRS data shows there have been 3213 deaths involving the virus recorded in Scotland as of May 10.
Sturgeon said: “I readily acknowledge that no trend in statistics can ever comfort the many people who have lost a loved one to this virus, and my thoughts and sympathies are with each and every one of them.
“But this week’s figures do offer further, and perhaps sustained, signs of hope. The number of Covid deaths, although still far too high, has fallen for the second week in a row. The number of deaths in care homes has also reduced for a second week.”
A total of 238 of deaths linked to coronavirus were in care homes in the week leading up to May 10, Sturgeon said, down from 314 the week before.
Despite a reductions in fatalities, she stressed: “That doesn’t mean we can relax yet, there are still too many cases, the reproduction rate of the virus is still higher than we would like and we continue to learn more about those most vulnerable to the disease.
“The trends we are seeing now are positive, if transmission rates continue to fall, we will be able to gradually relax the lockdown restrictions.”
However she insisted the Scottish Government will “continue to err on the side of caution”.
The NRS figures showed that 457 people have died of coronavirus in care homes in Greater Glasgow & Clyde – 201 were in the Glasgow City Council area.
There have been 3579 positive tests for Covid-19 in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board.
There are 486 people in hospital and 27 in intensive care with the virus in the area.
Across Scotland, 63,821 people have tested positive for coronavirus. The death toll is now 1973.
It comes as it was confirmed coronavirus-related deaths of NHS workers and care home residents and staff will now need to be reported to the Crown Office.
Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC said fatal accident inquiries will be held into Covid-19 deaths “where the law requires”.
The requirement to report coronavirus deaths to the Crown Office was relaxed earlier in the pandemic.