FIVE more lives have been lost to Covid-19 in West Dunbartonshire, according to the latest official statistics.

The latest figures released by the National Records of Scotland cover the period from Monday, September 13 to Sunday, September 19.

The five deaths in the area were the joint highest for a single seven-day period in West Dunbartonshire since eight people died in the week beginning February 22.

During the seven days to September 19, there were 22 Covid-related deaths in Glasgow, 12 in North Lanarkshire, and nine in Edinburgh.

The number of deaths in West Dunbartonshire in which Covid was mentioned on the death certificate now stands at 80 since the beginning of this year, and 258 since the start of the pandemic.

West Dunbartonshire continues to have the highest infection rate of all Scotland's 32 local authority areas, according to the most recent government data - but the infection rate is no longer the highest in the UK, and it is falling steadily and significantly.

For the week to September 18, West Dunbartonshire had 667 confirmed positive Covid tests, for a rate of 755 per 100,000 people.

By comparison, for the week to September 11, West Dunbartonshire's infection rate was 1,160.3 cases per 100,000 residents.

And for the week to Septmber 4 the rate stood at 1,212.4 per 100,000 people.