Eleven frontline workers die from Covid-19 as total coronavirus deaths in Scotland pass 2,200

Eleven frontline workers have died as a result of coronavirus in Scotland, it has been announced.

In her daily briefing, the First Minister said that six NHS staff and five members of the social care work force had lost their lives since the start of the pandemic.

Nicola Sturgeon added that the workers would not have necessarily contracted the virus in their workplace.

She also revealed that since March 5, 2,521 patients who tested positive for the virus have been discharged from hospital.

The daily briefing followed the weekly release of figures from National Records Scotland (NRS), which showed that 2,272 deaths have been recorded in Scotland with Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate.

52% of deaths have been in hospital, 39% of deaths in care homes and 9% at home or non-institutional settings. https://t.co/2cOoN966op

— The Sunday Post (@Sunday_Post) April 29, 2020

These figures differ to those Ms Sturgeon reports daily, which only include patients where there has been a positive test for coronavirus.

The NRS figures include all deaths linked to the virus, including those where it is only presumed to be the cause.

Of the 2,272 deaths recorded, 52% were in hospitals. 39% were in care homes – an increase on 33% from last week.

9% of deaths were recorded in homes or non-institutional settings.

Ms Sturgeon said that those in residential homes are “very, very vulnerable” to the virus.

Close proximity between older people in care homes who may already have other conditions, the First Minister said, increases the likelihood of the spread of the virus.

She added: “The steps that we’ve taken so far are designed to ensure that they’re as safe as they possibly can be.

“We will continue to take whatever steps are necessary and appropriate to ensure that is the case.”

Ms Sturgeon also commented on the number of “excess deaths” registered in Scotland.

The NRS figures showed there were 743 more deaths registered last week compared to the average of the same week in the past five years.

The vast majority, the First Minister said, could be attributed to Covid-19 however 112 could not.

She said that the number of excess deaths in Scotland was “far too high”, but was proportionately lower than similar figures seen in England and Wales.