Further information will help inform ongoing response to outbreak
The Scottish Government is publishing additional data daily in order to provide a clearer picture of how the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is progressing in Scotland.
The information below will be published every day at 2pm on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/.
Additional data published from Wednesday 8 April includes:
• total number tested positive and being treated in intensive care
• confirmed or suspected cases being treated in intensive care (in total and by health board)
• confirmed or suspected cases being treated in hospital (in total and by health board)
• Scottish Ambulance Service attendances for total and suspected cases (including suspected cases taken to hospital)
• NHS Staff COVID-19 related absences by day for the last week
• number of calls to the COVID-19 Helpline
• number of calls to 111 (all patients not COVID-19-related)
• number of people delayed in hospital (all patients not COVID-19-related)
This is in addition to the information currently provided:
• number of people in Scotland tested for COVID-19
• number tested negative/positive
• number tested positive and died
• number tested positive by health board
Separate to the daily published data above, including those deaths with a laboratory positive result for COVID-19, Wednesday 8 April also sees the first publication by a weekly report by National Records of Scotland on all deaths where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate by the doctor who certified the death.
This includes cases where the doctor noted that there was suspected or probable coronavirus infection involved in the death. These weekly statistics will provide valuable information on the spread and impact of COVID-19 across Scotland, will complement the daily statistics produced by HPS and provide a useful comparison with the weekly ONS death statistics.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “It is important to understand why this information matters. It is not just that we want to count how many people are affected by this virus, although that is of course very important.
“This information is also essential to helping us to understand who is most severely impacted by the virus, how it has spread and is spreading across the country, and whether there are any hot spots where there are more cases than we would expect to see.
“It also helps us plan for how many beds we will need in our hospitals, and it will help to tell us when the peak of this virus has passed, and when we might be able to make decisions about lifting some of these restrictions.
“I know, and have reflected on this previously, that it can be really hard hearing accounts of numbers of deaths. I understand that it can make us feel powerless – that something we cannot see or feel is taking so many lives.
“But we all do have power as individual citizens and I want again to stress that, by following the rules, by staying at home and by self-isolating when we have symptoms, all of us can help to reduce the number of deaths.
“Finally, I have said this on several recent occasions but I think it appropriate to say it again. I focus on the statistics in these updates because they are really important to give us some overall sense of how the virus is spreading. But I am acutely aware that deaths are much more than statistics.
“Each and every one of these deaths represents an individual whose loss is a cause of deep grief. So I want once again to express my condolences to everyone who has lost friends, family or loved-ones.”
National Records of Scotland yesterday released figures on the number of total deaths in Scotland related to Covid-19. The total number of deaths up to 5th April 2020 is 354, with 41 deaths in NHS Lothian.
16.2% of the total deaths in Scotland between 30th March to 5th of April (week 14) mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate.
The National Record of Scotland figures are higher than the number published daily on the Scottish Government website because NRS figures include all cases were Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, including suspected cases.
The 41 deaths in NHS Lothian account for 1.7% of deaths in the health board since the start of 2020 (weeks 1 to 14).
Scottish Conservatives health Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “My condolences are with the families and friends of people who have died from Coronavirus.
“These figures give a clearer picture of how Covid-19 cases are escalating and the number of people were Covid-19 has been a contributing factor in their death.
“We must all continue to follow official guidelines and do everything we can to protect the people most vulnerable to Coronavirus.”