Nearly 1,000 coronavirus linked deaths in Scotland, a quarter in care homes, report reveals

Around a quarter of deaths involving coronavirus in Scotland have been in care homes, new statistics show.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) figures covering the start of the outbreak until Sunday April 12 have registered 962 fatalities with Covid-19 mentioned in the death certificate.

Of these, 237 (24.6%) were in care homes, 596 (62%) were in hospitals, 128 (13.3%) were in homes or other places listed as non-institutions and one was listed as other.

Doctors and nurses prepare to enter the Covid-19 ward at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

The NRS figures are published weekly, in contrast to the daily figures released by Health Protection Scotland (HPS), which only count laboratory confirmations of coronavirus and recorded 699 deaths as of Wednesday.

A total of 608 deaths relating to Covid-19 were registered between April 6 and April 12, more than double the figure of 282 registered between March 30 and April 5, according to the NRS.

There were 62 deaths between March 23 and 29, and 10 in the week of March 16-22, when the registration mentioned the virus.

The total number of all deaths registered in Scotland from April 6 to April 12 was 1,696.

The average number of deaths registered in the same week over the last five years was 1,100.

Registered deaths involving Covid-19 from April 6 to April 12 accounted for 31% of all deaths registered in that week.