Scots COVID-19 deaths fall again and could hasten lockdown exit says Nicola Sturgeon

Nicola Sturgeon has said the latest weekly fall in COVID-19 deaths in Scotland is "encouraging" and hinted it could allow her to press ahead with easing lockdown.

Nicola Sturgeon said latest figures are encouraging

Official figures published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) today showed that weekly deaths fell by 83 to 332 in the seven days up to last Sunday.

It takes the total number of deaths from the virus in Scotland to 3,546 under this measurement which includes all cases where COVID-19 is registered on a death certificate.

It is the third week in a row in which deaths have fallen under this measure. The number of deaths in care homes fell for a third week, by 54 to 184.

"The trends we are seeing do matter and they provide further grounds for encouragement, in particular that COVID-19 deaths have fallen for a third week and are now almost half the level of three weeks ago," Ms Sturgeon said at First Minister’s Questions today.

Ms Sturgeon will publish a "route map" on the steps Scotland will take to emerge from lockdown on Thursday and said the latest figures how that the restrictions so far are "making a difference."

"It is slowing down the virus, it is protecting the NHS, it is saving lives,” she added.

"And as I will outline further tomorrow, it is helping to bring forward the time we can start to ease these restrictions."