People from deprived areas TWICE as likely to die of COVID-19

As at 14 June, 4,070 deaths have been registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) yesterday.

Between 8th and 14th June, 70 deaths relating to COVID-19 have been registered, a decrease of 19 from the previous week, 1st to 7th June. This is the seventh weekly reduction in a row of deaths involving COVID-19.

To place these statistics in context, the total number of deaths registered in Scotland from 8th to 14th June was 1,032, 3% higher than the average number of deaths registered in the same week over the last five years.

This week, NRS have produced additional analysis based on deprivation, pre-existing conditions and occupation, the key findings show:

People in the most deprived areas were 2.1 times more likely to die with COVID-19 than those living in the least deprived areas.
Of those who died with COVID in May, 92% had at least one pre-existing condition. The most common pre-existing condition was dementia and Alzheimer’s disease which accounted for 38% of all deaths involving COVID0-19, followed by ischaemic heart disease which account for 11% of all deaths.
The highest number of deaths involving COVID-19 of working people aged between 20-64 by occupation group were among process, plant and machine operatives which accounted for 43 deaths and an age-standardised death rate of 25.1 per 100,000 population.

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said: “Every death from this virus is a tragedy. These statistics, alongside the other important evidence being made available by the Scottish Government and Health Protection Scotland (HPS), are valuable to the understanding of the progress and impact of the COVID-19 virus across Scotland.

“Today we have published new analysis on mortality by occupation and provided a further breakdown by location to cover smaller areas. We have also included updated analysis on mortality by deprivation, leading causes of death and pre-existing conditions. Our aim is that this will provide important information to help understand the impact of the virus across the country.”

The publication Deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland and an infographic summary is available on the NRS website.