ANOTHER six lives were lost to Covid in Renfrewshire last week.

Latest figures from National Records of Scotland, covering the week ending October 17, show the total number of fatalities in the area since the pandemic began 19 months ago has increased to 573.

A total of 26 out of Scotland’s 32 council areas had at least one Covid death in the latest weekly figures.

Glasgow was worst hit, with 23 deaths recorded, followed by Fife (16) and North Lanarkshire (10).

The figures include all fatalities registered where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate and, as this includes suspected or probable cases, it differs from the lab-confirmed coronavirus deaths announced daily by the Scottish Government.

Across Scotland as a whole, the death toll increased by 139 in the weekly figures and now stands at 11,401.

Most of the latest deaths (78) involved men, while 61 were women.

A total of 18 of those who lost their life were aged under 65, while 29 were aged between 65 and 74 and there were 92 deaths in people aged 75 or over.

Of the 139 deaths recorded, 108 took place in hospitals, while 19 were in care homes and the rest were at home or in a non-institutional setting.