The latest data reveals that Covid-19 related deaths continue to rise in West Lothian.
Since The Courier last reported on this issue on November 20 there has been a spike of 14 deaths in seven days.
Public Health Scotland’s data as of November 25 shows that there have now been 77 coronavirus related fatalities in the past two months in West Lothian.
Although, the five coronavirus related deaths registered in the county on November 10 is the highest daily total since records began, the number of deaths in the days and weeks since show no real sign of slowing down.
In a four-day period from November 20 to 24 there were another ten fatalities recorded with coronavirus mentioned on the death certificate in West Lothian.
The first Covid-19 death was recorded in the region on March 16 and over the next few months they continued to be charted.
West Lothian’s first wave ended on June 27 when the last death was recorded and the total at that time was 100.
There were no deaths for three months, until September 30, and in the past two months they have again risen sharply.
The 77 deaths in the past two months mean there is now a Covid-19 related death toll in West Lothian of 177.
According to the latest Public Health Scotland (PHS) data, West Lothian has recorded 40 new Covid-19 tests, 288 over a seven day period and a total of 3318 since the first person tested positive in the county on March 9.
This works out at 157 people per 100,000 of the population in West Lothian having returned a positive test in the past week, above the national average of 123.
NHS Lothian has the third highest infection rates of all the health boards, with 168 new cases recorded, 876 over the past seven days and 13,113 since records began.
Scotland reported 1225 new cases, with 6750 over a seven day period and a total of 92,186 since the virus arrived in the country earlier in the year.
The PHS heat map of the 37 West Lothian neighbourhoods perhaps provides some hope.
Previously most of the West Lothian areas were in the highest red zone with 100 or more cases per 100,000, but now ten neighbourhoods have moved down to the lower categories.
Large parts of Livingston have moved out of the red zone and Knightbridge and Deans North is the only neighbourhood in the county that sits in the bottom category, with no positive tests in the past week.
East Calder was ranked the highest of all the neighbourhoods, with 13 Covid-19 cases recorded in the week of November 17 to 23.
