Renfrewshire has suffered its deadliest week of the Covid-19 pandemic since March.
Data released by the National Records of Scotland shows that four people died after contracting the virus in the week to July 15.
It is the highest death toll the local authority area has recorded since March 14.
The tragic total includes a number of care home residents.
Recently updated records show that five vulnerable people living in the region’s 22 care homes have lost their lives to the virus in the month of July.
They are amongst six people in the local authority area who have died of the virus in that time frame.
It means the death toll for Renfrewshire now stands at a devastating 532.
The Express revealed earlier this week how the deadly virus has made its way back into a small number of Renfrewshire’s 22 elderly care homes.
Official data, released by the Care Inspectorate, showed 214 people had died in old people’s homes in the year to March 2021.
However the death toll of care home residents in Renfrewshire is expected to be higher, with those who caught the virus within a home but later died in hospital not included in these figures.
Linda de Caestecker, director of public health at NHSGGC said: “My heart goes out to the family and friends of those who have lost their lives to covid in recent weeks in Renfrewshire – their pain and grief will be keenly felt and my thoughts are with them.
“It is a reminder, yet again, that any significant rise in infections will, invariably, lead to a rise in hospitalisations and, unfortunately, deaths.
“However, there is a way to fight back and that is through vaccination.
“As we look to open up vaccinations to 16 and 17 year olds, I would urge everyone to take up the invitation to get their jag – and if you have missed an appointment, for whatever reason, come to one of our drop-in clinics or rearrange your appointment.
“Not only will you protect yourself from the risk of infection, but you will also protect those who matter to you most.”
The deaths come just six weeks after new covid cases in Renfrewshire soared to a record high.
More than 750 new infections were identified in the last week of June and the first week of July, with an all-time high of 170 cases recorded in a single day on June 29.
The region’s infection rate of 546 cases per 100,000 of population has however fallen significantly since then, with the most recent figures showing a rate of 138 per 100,000.
Much of that reduction has been attributed to the successful roll out of the Covid-19 vaccine programme and increased testing.
The introduction of daily drop-in vaccination centres has seen thousands of people receive first and second doses of the life-saving jab.
Almost three quarters of the adult population in Renfrewshire - 73.1 per cent - are now fully vaccinated against the virus.
A further 90 per cent have received their first jab.
Of those aged 40 to 49, 84.4 per cent of locals have been double jabbed. That figure falls to 46.9 per cent for 30 to 39 year olds and 35 per cent for the 18 to 29 age bracket.
