The cumulative total of Covid cases in Orkney is now at 4,373.

The stats for Scotland published on 16th March 2022 are as follows:

• 10,710 new cases of COVID-19 reported*
• 31 new reported deaths of people who have tested positive
• 32 people were in intensive care yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19
• 1,999 people were in hospital yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19
• 4,441,175** people have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination, 4,171,128** have received their second dose, and 3,468,504** have received a third dose or booster

* Please note that case figures reported today (16/03/2022) cover less than a 24 hour period. This is due to a reoccurrence of the technical issue from earlier in the week, meaning data has not been received since 8pm yesterday (15 March 2022).

** Due to technical issues, Public Health Scotland has not been able to provide vaccination data today (16 March 2022). Figures remain unchanged from those reported yesterday (15 March 2022).

Deaths:

National Records of Scotland Report

In the week 7 to 13 March, 117 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, an increase of six deaths from the previous week.

90 deaths were aged 75 or older, 17 were aged 65 to 74, and 10 were under 65. 50 were female and 67 were male.

There were 14 deaths in City of Edinburgh and Glasgow City, and 11 in Highland. In total, 27 council areas (out of 32) had at least one death involving COVID-19 last week.

74 were in hospitals, 36 were in care homes and seven were at home or in a non-institutional setting.

Our monthly analysis shows that the age-standardised rate of COVID-related deaths was lower in February 2022 (82 per 100,000) compared to January 2022 (116 per 100,000) Throughout the pandemic, the highest rate of COVID-related deaths was 585 per 100,000 people in April 2020.

Of the 13,421 deaths involving COVID-19 between March 2020 and February 2022, 93% (12,455) had at least one pre-existing condition, with the most common being dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said:

“The latest figures show that last week there were 117 deaths where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. This is six more deaths than the previous week.

“The number of deaths from all causes registered in Scotland in this week was 1,207, which is 12, or 1%, fewer than the five year average.”

There have been nine deaths in Scotland in which the underlying cause of death was due to the adverse effects of vaccination against COVID-19, and two further deaths where an adverse effect was mentioned on the death certificate. This is an increase of three from the figure reported last month. By 28 February 2022, statistics from Public Health Scotland state that 4.4 million people had been given at least one vaccine dose.

The publication Deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland is available on the NRS website.

What can you do?

From 21 March:

• you must continue to wear a face covering (unless exempt) in most indoor public spaces and on public transport
• some legal COVID-19 requirements will be lifted, and replaced by advice to encourage everyone to stay vigilant

To help keep yourself and others safe:

• get the vaccine or the vaccine booster 
• if you don’t have symptoms take lateral flow tests twice a week, and if visiting someone vulnerable or going to a crowded place
• if you have symptoms – self isolate and book a PCR test
• open windows when meeting indoors
• wash your hands regularly, and cover your nose and mouth if coughing or sneezing
• work from home as well as the office if you can – businesses and workplaces should follow the safer workplace guidance
• use the apps: COVID status (vaccine passport) and Protect Scotland