The number of north-east deaths linked to Covid-19 is at its highest level since April.
Last week 33 deaths were recorded in NHS Grampian, 17 of those in Aberdeen and 15 in Aberdeenshire.
It means the region has now passed the grim milestone of more than 400 deaths linked to the virus.
The latest figures, released by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) covers the period between January 4 and January 10.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 407 deaths linked to the virus in the region.
Of those 208 were in the city, 176 in Aberdeenshire and 23 in Moray.
In the Highlands, one more death was recorded, bringing the total to 141.
And this week saw the Western Isles record just it’s second death linked to Covid. There were no deaths in Orkney or Shetland.
The NRS figures are different from those published daily by the Scottish Government as it includes all deaths where Covid-19, including suspected cases, is mentioned on a person’s death certificate.
The latest figures released by the NRS cover up to January 10, and link 7,074 deaths to the virus in Scotland.
Of those, 384 were in the last week – up 197 on the previous week
Almost three-quarters (73%) of the deaths were people aged 75 and over, with the majority of all deaths occurring in hospitals.
The number of deaths recorded during this period is 34% higher than the average for the same seven-days between 2015 and 2019.
Pete Whitehouse, director of statistical services, said: “Each statistic represents the death of a loved one and heartbreak for families and friends across the country.
“As expected, the number of deaths registered in week 1 of 2021 is significantly higher than that of week 53 of 2020 as registrars have dealt with backlogs from the Christmas period.
“It is difficult to monitor trends in death registrations at this time of year due to the impact of public holidays on registration activity.
“Next week’s report will include analysis of deaths by date of occurrence and this will give a clearer indication of the trend at the end of 2020.”