Coronavirus – Thursday’s figures

The number of cases of Covid-19 in Scotland were announced by Public Health Scotland today. In NHS Lothian 85.3% of those aged 40+ have now had their second vaccination.

The First Minister addressed a virtual recall of parliament on Tuesday afternoon setting out details of the next phase of any relaxation of restrictions.

She said then: “The Scottish Government understands the temptation to lift more restrictions more quickly – of course we do. But in our view, and in line with clinical advice and modelling, a gradual approach stands the best chance of minimising further health harm and loss of life. And also because a gradual approach stands the best chance of being a sustainable approach, it will be better in the long term for the economy as well. So we will continue to ease restrictions – we are not slamming on the brakes – but we will do so carefully. Let me turn then to the detail of our decisions.

“From Monday 19 July, all parts of Scotland not currently there will move to level 0. However, this move will be made with certain modifications – applied consistently across the country – to ensure that we are not easing up faster than is sensible.”

All the details are on The Scottish Government website and are summarised as:

At Level 0:

• you can meet socially in groups:
  • of up to 8 people from 4 households in your home or theirs – and can stay overnight
  • of up to 10 people from 4 households in an indoor public place like a café, pub or restaurant
  • of up to 15 people from 15 households outdoors
• under 12s do not count towards the total number of people or households meeting outside but count towards the household numbers indoors
• you do not need to physically distance from family and friends in a private home
• you can travel anywhere in Scotland in Levels 0, 1 or 2 but must not enter a Level 3 or 4 area unless for a permitted reason
• you can travel anywhere in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands – before you travel you must check the travel rules in those countries
• you can provide informal childcare, for example to look after a grandchild
• up to 200 people can attend weddings and funerals 
• tradespeople can carry out any work in your home such as painting, decorating or repairing
• you should work from home where possible

On Monday the Prime Minister confirmed the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions in England, saying at a press conference: “We’ve come to a stage in the pandemic when there is no easy answer or obvious date for unlocking. We have cases rising significantly – with more than 30,000 per day. And we can see what is happening across Europe as the Delta variant takes hold among our friends.

“We know we’re going to see more hospitalisations and more deaths from Covid. But we also know that this wave was clearly foreseen by our scientists when we first set out that roadmap in February.

“And if anything, so far, we are in the middle range of their projections for infections and at the lower end of their projections for mortality.

“And we also know that if we were now to delay this fourth step – for instance to September or later – then we would be re-opening as the weather gets colder and as the virus acquires a greater natural advantage and when schools are back.”

According to Travelling Tabby who keeps the daily records here only 50.7% of people in Edinburgh have been vaccinated which is the lowest in Scotland.

On most days in the past week or so the number of those who have received a vaccination has been less than 30,000.

The revised strategic framework in Scotland sets out the next review point which is 19 July, and that is when any new rules come into place.

After that the next significant date is 9 August when the vast majority of over 40s will have a significant level of protection. At that time it might be possible to move beyond Level 0, but it will depend on the data at the time. But in any case the government will not advise an immediate return to full offices working from 9 August. All of these measures will take time to put back in place.

Statistics

Deaths involving COVID-19 Week 27: 05 – 11 July 2021

As at 11 July, 10,220 deaths have been registered in Scotland where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS). 

In the week 5 – 11 July 2021, 30 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, an increase of eight deaths from the previous week.

There were five deaths in the City of Edinburgh and four deaths in both Glasgow City and South Lanarkshire. Fourteen other council areas also recorded deaths involving COVID-19 last week.

Over the course of the pandemic, Glasgow City, Renfrewshire, West Dunbartonshire and North Lanarkshire have had the highest COVID-related death rates, with people in large urban areas being 3.7 times as likely to die with COVID as those in remote rural areas, after adjusting for age.

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said: “Five of the COVID-related deaths last week were aged under 65, four were aged 65-74 and there were twenty one deaths amongst people aged 75 or over. Nine were female and twenty one were male. 

After adjusting for age, COVID-related death rates for males are significantly higher than for females. In the period from March 2020 to June 2021, COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificates of 176 males per 100,000 population compared to 121 females per 100,000.

There have been 4 deaths where the underlying cause was adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines. There have been no vaccine-related deaths in the latest month. By 30 June 2021 statistics from Public Health Scotland state that 3.82 million people had been given at least one vaccine dose.”

In the last week the total number of deaths from all causes was 6% higher than the average for week 27 in the period 2015-2019. At the height of the pandemic in April 2020, there were around 80% more deaths than average.

93% of COVID-related deaths between March 2020 and June 2021 had at least one pre-existing medical condition, with the most common being dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

Figures below with an asterisk are provisional and reflect some difficulty in establishing the correct figure.

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Phyllis Stephen

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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.

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