As at 5th July, 4,173 deaths have been registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate, an increase of 17 deaths from the previous week, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) today.
From 29th June to 5th July, 40 fewer deaths from all causes were registered compared with the average number for this time of year.
This is the second week in a row the total number of deaths registered has been lower than the average.
New analysis of deaths registered up to 14th June shows that deaths among people from the South Asian ethnic group were almost twice as likely to involve COVID-19 than deaths in the White ethnic group, after accounting for age group, sex, area deprivation and urban rural classification.
Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said:
“For the first time, we have produced additional analysis on deaths involving COVID-19 by ethnic group and the findings show that over the course of the pandemic to date, COVID-19 was a more common cause of death for people in the South Asian ethnic group, compared to people in the White ethnic group.
“Every death from this virus is a tragedy and these statistics represent the heartbreak of many families across the country who have lost loved ones.
“Understanding the impact of how the virus differs by ethnic group is vitally important, however, due to the low number of completed records for deaths involving COVID-19 in other minority ethnic groups, it is not possible to produce statistics for these groups.
“NRS will continue to play our part and work alongside Public Health Scotland and the Scottish Government to provide robust information to help us understand the progression and impact of the virus.”
