The number of people who died with confirmed or suspected coronavirus in Scotland fell in the week to Sunday, according to the latest figures.

       National Records of Scotland (NRS) statistics show that in the week to December 19, 68 deaths were registered that mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, down 17 on the previous week.

       As of Sunday, 12,372 people have died in Scotland with confirmed or suspected coronavirus.

       In the week of December 13-19 there were 16 deaths among people aged under 65, 14 in the 65-74 age group and 38 in people aged 75 or over.

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       Glasgow saw 13 deaths and Edinburgh and South Lanarkshire saw seven fatalities each, while 22 out of the 32 council areas had at least one death last week.

       Pete Whitehouse, NRS director of statistical services, said: “The latest figures show that last week there were 68 deaths where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. This is 17 fewer deaths than the previous week.

       “The number of deaths from all causes registered in Scotland in this week was 1,339, which is 103, or 8%, more than the five-year average.”

       (PA Graphics)

       (PA Graphics)

       Of the latest Covid deaths, 51 occurred in hospitals, six in care homes and 11 at home or in a non-institutional setting.

       Thirty-two of those who died were male and 36 were female.

       The NRS statistics are published weekly and cover all deaths registered in Scotland where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

       They differ from the lab-confirmed coronavirus deaths announced daily by the Scottish Government because the NRS figures include suspected or probable cases of Covid-19.

       Wednesday’s daily figures recorded 11 new coronavirus deaths and 2,434 positive tests in the last 24 hours.

       But Public Health Scotland said the positive case numbers are “lower than expected” and that it is investigating.

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       There were 536 people in hospital with recently confirmed Covid-19 on Tuesday, an increase of 21 on the day before, and 40 people were in intensive care, up three.

       The death toll under the daily measure stands at 9,801.