Ayrshire's deadliest month: January Covid death toll is the highest of the pandemic

January proved to be Ayrshire's deadliest month for Covid-linked deaths since the pandemic began, it was revealed today.

New data released by the National Records of Scotland shows that 169 Ayrshire and Arran death certificates mention COVID-19 so far this year.

Deaths registered between the four-week period of January 4 and January 31 have eclipsed the peak of the first wave, where 165 people died in the four weeks between April 6 and May 4.

Last week (January 25 to January 31) saw 43 registered deaths mention coronavirus – four less than last week.

The update means that 747 deaths in the region have been linked to Covid since the pandemic began.

Of those to pass away last week, 14 were in East Ayrshire, 16 in North Ayrshire, and 13 in South Ayrshire.

North Ayrshire has the highest Covid death toll in the county (284) with South Ayrshire registering 244 deaths and East Ayrshire with the fewest on 219.

Latest figures show there have been a total of 8,347 deaths registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate.

Of the total number of deaths registered last week, there were 440 where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. This is a decrease of 12 deaths on the previous week.

And 68 per cent (301 deaths) were aged 75+, and 14 per cent (63 deaths) were aged under 65.

The majority of deaths occurred in hospitals representing 301 deaths, 97 occurred in care homes, 38 at home or in non-institutional settings and 4 in other institutions.

To place these statistics in context, the total number of all-cause deaths registered in the week ending January 31 was 1,593 – 21 per cent higher than the average for the same week in the period 2015 to 2019.

Pete Whitehouse, director of statistical services at the National Records of Scotland, said: “Each statistic represents the loss of a loved one for families across the country.

“The latest figures show a very small reduction in the number of deaths compared with the previous week. Whilst it is too soon to conclude whether this is the start of a sustained fall in the number of deaths it is nevertheless a positive sign.

Our report also shows that deaths from all causes are 21 per cent above average for this time of year.

"Most of these excess deaths occurred at home or in hospital, whilst the number of deaths in care homes were just below average for this time of year.”

Latest Public Health Scotland data shows that eight NHS Ayrshire & Arran patients who tested positive for coronavirus have died in the past 24 hours.

Ayrshire hospital numbers also fell again by one to 229. Meanwhile, ICU numbers also fell by one to 14.

A total of 82 cases have been detected overnight with 13,661 Ayrshire residents testing positive since the outbreak started.