STARK WARNING OF MORE DEATHS BEING INEVITABLE
Sturgeon says increase in cases must be stemmed
DEATHS will inevitably rise unless the recent increase in coronavirus cases is halted, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned. She said that while deaths were now low and on many days there were none reported, the rate of rising cases Scotland has seen will lead to more people in hospital and more people dying once again.
The latest figures showed more than 100 positive cases in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.
There were 105 cases across the six council areas that make up Greater Glasgow and Clyde, out of the total of 267 new cases across Scotland.
Another 40 cases were reported in Lanarkshire and 45 in Lothian.
It was the second day on which 267 new cases were reported, which the First Minister said was a coincidence.
There were 51 people in hospital with Covid- 19 – an increase of three on the day before.
There was one new death reported.
Sturgeon said: “While the number of deaths is much, much lower thankfully than was the case in the spring and early summer this year, nevertheless the need for me to report deaths is a more regular feature of these briefings now than it has been for quite some time.
“Unless we act to stem community transmission now it is highly likely that cases of serious illness and deaths will rise in the weeks to come.
“If community transmission continues to rise, as night follows day, we will see more cases of people in hospital and unfortunately more cases of people dying.”
Sturgeon also said that if the rise does not come down then there would need to be further measures applied.
She said: “It is a statement of the obvious if what we are doing to stem the virus doesn’t work we will have to do something else.”
She added, however, that it was not inevitable that will be necessary.
She said: “If we do abide by the rules there is every likelihood it will stem the spread of the virus.
“The tougher restrictions in Greater Glasgow ... while cases are still rising, they are not rising as fast as we would have expected them to if nothing was done.”
The weekly National Records of Scotland ( NRS) report showed there had been five deaths where Covid- 19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
Three were in a hospital and two in care homes.
Two of the deaths were in Glasgow, one in Aberdeen, one in Fife and one in West Dunbartonshire.
NRS head of demographic statistics Alan Ferrier said: “Every death from this virus represents heartbreak for families and communities across the country who have lost loved ones.
“However, since mid- July the number of deaths involving Covid19 has remained relatively low, averaging out at one death every other day.
“The updated analysis once again shows that Covid- 19 mortality rates are higher in urban, more populated areas, and in areas of highest deprivation.”
The NRS report, which analyses the deaths in detail, found people living in the most deprived areas are just over two times more likely to die with Covid- 19, while those in larger urban areas are over four times more likely.
Of those who died between March and August, 92% had at least one pre- existing condition.