The number of coronavirus deaths in Scotland has passed the 7,000 mark, according to new figures.
National Records of Scotland (NRS) statistics show there were 384 deaths where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate between January 4 and 10, an increase of 197 from the previous week.
As of Sunday, 7,074 such deaths had been registered in Scotland.
Almost three-quarters (73%) of the deaths were of people aged 75 and over, while 9% were aged under 65.
There were 428 (34%) more deaths registered between January 4 and 10 compared to the five-year average for that week, and 76% of them had Covid-19 as an underlying cause.
Pete Whitehouse, NRS director of statistical services, said: “Each statistic represents the death of a loved one and heartbreak for families and friends across the country.
“As expected, the number of deaths registered in week 1 of 2021 is significantly higher than that of week 53 of 2020 as registrars have dealt with backlogs from the Christmas period.
“It is difficult to monitor trends in death registrations at this time of year due to the impact of public holidays on registration activity.
#NRSStats show as at 10 January a total of 7,074 deaths have been registered in #Scotland where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, 384 deaths were registered from 4–10 January, an increase of 197 deaths from the previous week. https://t.co/61kd2opGs1 pic.twitter.com/DBWVM6A7Xj
— NatRecordsScot (@NatRecordsScot) January 13, 2021
“Next week’s report will include analysis of deaths by date of occurrence, and this will give a clearer indication of the trend at the end of 2020.”
The NRS figures differ from the lab-confirmed coronavirus deaths announced daily by the Scottish Government using Health Protection Scotland data because the former includes suspected or probable cases of Covid-19.
In the week to January 10, the majority of deaths (65%) occurred in hospitals (251), with 113 in care homes and 19 at home or in non-institutional settings, while one was in another institution.
