More Covid-19 deaths have been recorded as new infections soar to record levels in Edinburgh.
The latest Public Health Scotland information shows that there were another 16 coronavirus related deaths in Edinburgh in the month of December.
This is a small dip on last month, when there were 17, and shows the number of deaths continues to drop marginally in Edinburgh.
READ MORE: Edinburgh schools 'might not fully reopen in new year' due to Covid warns union
The data shows that this year, after the vaccination programme there were almost no deaths in Edinburgh, but the death toll began to rise again in the summer months, and by July, August, September and October there were 20/30 deaths per month.
The National Records of Scotland figures show that there have now been 951 Covid-19 related deaths in Edinburgh since the pandemic started, with 394 of those coming this year. Glasgow is the highest of any local authority in Scotland, with 1867 fatalities. Across Scotland there have been 12,372 deaths recorded overall and 5670 this year.
The latest PHS updates, as of December 30, revealed that there were 1312 new cases of the coronavirus in Edinburgh, and 7946 across the week. This shows the Omicron variant is now recording higher amounts of cases than the Delta strain from last year.
Meanwhile, Nicola Sturgeon singled out health staff in her New Year message.
She said: “2021 has been dominated by the challenges of covid.
“Throughout this year, our health and care workers have continued to do an absolutely magnificent job. And those working on our vaccination programme have provided all of us with an incredible service.
“Thanks to their efforts - and also thanks to the sacrifices of people right across the country - earlier this year businesses were able to reopen.”
