A TOTAL of 70 West Dunbartonshire residents have died of confirmed or suspected coronavirus, according to the latest figures by the National Records of Scotland.

According to the data released today, 18 of the deaths happened last week, compared to 17 the week before.

Nearly half of the total deaths have taken place in care homes, 34, meanwhile, four were at home and 32 were in hospital.

Across Scotland, there has been a total of 2,272 deaths recorded in which Covid-19 is mentioned on the death certificate.

Between April 20-26, 656 deaths relating to Covid-19 have been registered, an increase of four from the previous week.

To place the statistics in context - the total number of deaths registered in Scotland from April 20-26 was 1,830 – 68 per cent more than the average number of deaths registered in the same week over the last five years, 1,087. Of the 743 excess deaths, 85 per cent were deaths where Covid-19 was the underlying cause of death.

Nationally, over a third of all registered deaths involving Covid-19 occurred in care homes, 39 per cent.

52 per cent of registered deaths were in hospitals, and 9 per cent were at home or non-institutional settings.

Pete Whitehouse, director of statistical services, said: “Every death from this virus is a tragedy.

"These statistics, alongside the other important evidence being made available by the Scottish Government and Health Protection Scotland (HPS), are valuable to the understanding of the progress and impact of the Covid-19 virus across Scotland.

“Our aim is to ensure that our statistical publication provides information that is as useful as possible and adds value to the understanding of how the virus is spreading throughout the country. We will continue to review and develop these statistics as new information is made available.”