COVID deaths in Scotland exceed 10,000

Deaths in Scotland from coronavirus have now exceeded 10,000.

Figures published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) report 9,997 deaths up to Sunday 4 April where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

Since then there have been a further six deaths of people who had tested positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of COVID-related deaths to at least 10,003.

Last week a total of 38 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, a decrease of 24 deaths from the previous week.

But NRS warned that death registrations are likely to have been lower than the actual number of deaths due to the public holiday on Good Friday.

The majority of deaths – 29 – between 29 March and 4 April occurred in hospitals, with five deaths at home or in non-institutional settings and four deaths in care homes.

Forty-seven per cent, or 18, deaths were people aged 75 and over and eight deaths were people aged under 65.

Pete Whitehouse, director of statistical services at NRS, said: “We are seeing an encouraging reduction in the number of deaths involving COVID-19, but I am very conscious that these figures represent painful losses for families across Scotland.

“While registered deaths continue to fall, care should be taken when interpreting this week’s figures.

“These have been affected by the recent public holiday as there may have been a delay in registering some deaths.”

Responding to the news that deaths linked to coronavirus had exceeded 10,000, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: "This tragic milestone serves to remind us about the devastation wreaked by the virus. 

“Behind these numbers are real people whose lives were cut short, leaving loved ones behind to mourn.

“Were it not for our incredible NHS and our collective effort in adhering to the restrictions, the toll could have been even greater.

“But we are beating this virus, we are winning the race.

“As the number of people vaccinated grows by the day, so too does our optimism for a brighter future.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: “When I think of 10,000 deaths, I think of 10,000 broken families and friends. I think of the pain and the loss. 

“For their sake we must learn the lessons of what went right and what went wrong.   

“With one of the highest numbers of people dead in Europe, Scotland has a special responsibility to conduct an early public inquiry.

“That inquiry must look at the lack of testing for new care home residents, the lack of preparation in the summer for the second wave in the autumn and the lack of asymptomatic testing to hunt down and drive out the virus.”

This morning Scotland’s national clinical director, Jason Leitch, pointed out the decrease in deaths due to vaccination rollout and encouraged the public not to be put off having the coronavirus vaccine by fears over the very small risk of blood clots linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, Leitch said: “If you end up in intensive care, there is a one in four chance of a serious blood clot, which knocks the other risks out of the park, and therefore vaccinating everybody and everybody turning up for their appointments is the crucial message.

“Ten thousand people have unfortunately lost their lives to this disease in this country and nothing like that number have lost anything, either illness or the few deaths there have been, because of blood clots from AstraZeneca, so these three vaccines are safe, they are effective and they are, crucially, in Scotland, available.

“So work your way through the ages, and COVID is the critical thing, so get rid of the incidents, drive down the hospitalisations and the mortality, which is what’s happening, we’ve now gone below 50 per 100,000 for the first time in months and that’s thanks to everybody’s work, but it’s also thanks to the vaccination programme.

by John Johnston

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“The crucial message is if you have a vaccination appointment, if you’re offered a vaccine, you should absolutely take it. You do not want COVID.”