There have been 67 deaths involving COVID-19 in Ayrshire, according to new statistics.

National Records of Scotland revealed the latest figures at 12pm today.

Between March 30 and April 6, 40 deaths were registered.

The First Minister said: "I am acutely aware that each death is not just a statistic, every single one represents a unique irreplaceable individual and we should always keep that in mind"

There has been a total of 1,515 non-COVID deaths registered in the region in 2020, based on a population record of 369,670 that gives Ayrshire and Arran a COVID-19 death rate per 10,000 population of 1.8 - the 6th highest across the Scottish health boards.

Today, 41 more people were confirmed to have coronavirus in Ayrshire, bringing the total to 457.

116 patients are in hospital, up 4 in the past 24 hours, and 13 are in ICU, meaning no change, with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.

Reports say 16 residents have died in a care home in Prestwick. Read more here.

As at April 12, 962 deaths have been registered in Scotland where COVID-19 was mentioned in the death certificate.

62 per cent of registered deaths were in hospitals and 13 per cent were at home or non-institutional settings.

Almost 70 per cent of all registered deaths involving COVID-19 to date were people aged 75 or over.

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said: “All of these deaths are tragic for the families involved.

"These statistics, when placed 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 the country."

Yesterday, Nicola Sturgeon announced there has now been 615 laboratory confirmed deaths from coronavirus across Scotland.

The current figures for Ayrshire show 416 patients confirmed with the virus and 112 being treated in NHS Ayrshire and Arran hospitals.

Across Scotland, 6,748 lab tested positive coronavirus cases have been confirmed, up 390 since yesterday.

1,748 patients were in hospitals with suspected or confirmed, this is down 53 in the last 24 hours, and 195 are in ICU, down 1.

84 deaths of those who tested positive have been registered in the last 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total to 699.

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