Coronavirus in Scotland LIVE: Potential Covid-19 treatments could be fast-tracked
Updates on coronavirus in Scotland and across the world.
Coronavirus in Scotland LIVE: Latest updates on Wednesday
Key Events
- A further 83 people die from Covid-19 in Scotland
- Total deaths have reached 1,415
- 2,521 people have been discharged from hospital
- 11,034 people have tested positive for Covid-19
Nicola Sturgeon daily news briefing live: Number of excess deaths in Scotland "far too high"
Nicola Sturgeon also commented on the number of "excess deaths" registered in Scotland.
The NRS figures published on Wednesday showed there were 743 more deaths registered last week compared to the average of the same week in the past five years.
The vast majority, the First Minister said, could be attributed to Covid-19 however 112 could not.
The First Minister said that the number of excess deaths in Scotland was "far too high", but was proportionately lower than similar figures seen in England and Wales.
Nicola Sturgeon daily news briefing live: 'Those in residential homes are "very, very vulnerable" to the virus'
The First Minister said that those in residential homes are "very, very vulnerable" to the virus.
Close proximity between older people in care homes who may already have other conditions, the First Minister said, increases the likelihood of the spread of the virus.
She added: "The steps that we've taken so far are designed to ensure that they're as safe as they possibly can be.
"We will continue to take whatever steps are necessary and appropriate to ensure that is the case."
Nicola Sturgeon daily news briefing live: 11,034 people have tested positive for Covid-19 -an increase of 313 from yesterday
Nicola Sturgeon also confirms that 11,034 people have tested positive for Covid-19 -an increase of 313 from yesterday.
1,727 patients are in hospital with a suspected or confirmed case , with 114 being treated in intensive care (down 12).
2,521 people have been discharged from hospital after receiving treatment for the virus.
A further 83 people who have tested positive for Covid-19 have died in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 1,415 deaths in Scotland under that measure.
This is a lower figure that the 2,272 deaths confirmed by the NR, as it only covers cases confirmed by laboratory testing.
Nicola Sturgeon daily news briefing live
Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that six NHS staff and five social care workers have died in Scotland from Covid-19.
2,272 people have died in Scotland with confirmed or suspected coronavirus
A total of 2,272 people have died in Scotland with confirmed or suspected coronavirus, according to the National Records of Scotland (NRS).
Of these:
- 39% took place in care homes
- 52% in hospitals
- 9% in homes or non-institutional settings
There were 656 deaths relating to Covid-19 registered between April 20 and April 26, a rise of four on the 652 registered between April 13 and April 19.
The figures are announced weekly and account for 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 they include suspected or probable cases of Covid-19.
Domestic abuse disclosure scheme use up 18% in Scotland
Use of a police scheme to find out whether a partner has an abusive past has risen by almost a fifth since lockdown began.
Police Scotland said around 260 requests were made through its domestic abuse disclosure scheme between restrictions coming into force on March 23 and Monday April 27.
Requests have risen 18% on the 219 made over the same period of 2019.
Police officers and other professionals such as social workers and NHS staff are making the majority of the requests, under the Power to Tell aspect of the scheme which enables them to raise a concern about someone they believe might be at risk of domestic abuse.
Police Scotland then decides whether to make a disclosure to safeguard a person.
Retail figures dropped 1.1% in Scotland before coronavirus
Retail sales in Scotland dropped by 1.1% in the first quarter of 2020 before coronavirus lockdown measures were enforced.
Statistics published by Scotland's chief statistician Roger Halliday on Wednesday show the rate of decline in Scotland was slower than the rest of the UK, which saw a contraction of 1.4% between January and March this year.
The volume of retail goods sold also dropped by 1.1% in Scotland, while the rate was 1.6% in the rest of the UK.
Retail output is expected to plummet in the second quarter, after the Scottish and UK governments instructed people to stay at home except for essential journeys in a bid to tackle the pandemic.
Thousands more will die in care homes without urgent funding, warns owner
The lives of residents in private care homes are at "grave risk" without more urgent funding from the Scottish Government and local councils, the owner of several facilities across Scotland has warned.
Private care homes have been pushed into the "last chance saloon" by the coronavirus pandemic, Robert Kilgour said, adding that residents and staff are "enduring an absolutely torrid time".
Mr Kilgour, who founded and runs Renaissance Care which has 15 properties across the country, said care homes urgently need additional funding or "thousands" more elderly residents will die.
He claimed many Scottish local authorities are giving council-run care homes more money per resident than for people councils have placed in the independent sector.
'Kind and cheery' intensive care worker dies after testing positive for Covid-19
Tributes have been paid to a "kind and cheery" intensive care nurse who died after testing positive for Covid-19.
Father-of-two Adekunle Enitan died in hospital on Friday after being cared for by the NHS team he had worked with for five years.
Known to his colleagues as Ade, he worked at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent.
The 55-year-old's family say he will "never be forgotten" and a permanent memorial is to be arranged at the hospital.
More than 100 frontline NHS and care workers are confirmed to have died during the coronavirus pandemic.