Warning to be on guard as deaths hit 9,958

Coronavirus deaths in Scotland are continuing to fall but the rate of decline is starting to slow, the latest weekly figures show.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) data confirms 9,958 people have now died with confirmed or suspected coronavirus.

Between March 22 and 28, 61 deaths were registered that mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, a fall of five from the previous week.

This compares to falls of 39, 38 and 89 deaths over the previous three weeks.

Double-figure drops were also recorded in each week since January 18-24, when the number of weekly deaths last increased.

On Tuesday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned against complacency in fighting Covid-19, saying the data “suggests that the number of new cases having fallen throughout January and February are now plateauing rather than continuing to decline significantly”.

The NRS figures show the majority of coronavirus deaths in the last week took place in hospital, at 43, with 13 at home or in a noninstitutional setting and five in care homes.

Around half of the deaths were people aged 75 and over (32), while there were 13 fatalities among those aged under 65.

Deaths from all causes are below average for this time of year for the third week in a row.

Pete Whitehouse, director of statistical services at NRS, said: “It is welcome to report that this is the ninth week in succession where we have seen a fall in the number of Covid-related deaths and it’s the third where there were fewer deaths from all causes, in comparison with the five-year average.”