In the Herald yesterday, McArdle, uncharacteristically refers to the FM without crticism:
The number of ‘extra’ deaths from any cause since the Covid outbreak began is a fifth lower in Scotland than in England and Wales. The discrepancy in excess death rates was highlighted by Nicola Sturgeon as she was asked during the daily briefing “why the percentage of deaths in care homes is so much higher” in Scotland than south of the Border.
It’s a victory of sorts but a small one in the light of the ‘extra’ deaths, as she puts it, to help the slower readers (?), from the European mortality monitoring activity which suggest a more dramatic contrast:
England’s excess death rate nearly THREE times higher than in Scotland
More at:
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
That looks more like it , simple graph , understandable, should be on all Scotland front pages , but we know it won’t be ! .
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In her article, Ms McArdle reports that the FM was asked (not by her): “why the percentage of deaths in care homes is so much higher” in Scotland than south of the Border.
This is an example either of the journalists not understanding arithmetic (the charitable explanation) or of selecting data and wilfully misrepresenting it.
The number of deaths in Scotland is falling. The number of deaths in care homes in Scotland is falling, too, but not as fast as for the population as a whole, so, although the number of care home deaths is reducing, the actual number is a larger proportion of a total number which is declining even faster.
Let me be clear, the number of deaths in care homes is shocking and really has to be addressed with urgency and also, after the events, there will have to be an investigation, which amongst other things, examines closely the role of the care home owners.
What the question illustrates is that for the majority of our appalling media BLAMING THE SG AND THE SNP IS THE PRIORITY. Most of them could not give a monkey’s about care homes or the huge proportion of the deaths that are in the most poverty-affected communities. They will allude to it if they think it can harm the SG’s standing, but, once the crisis is over, they will be back to the poverty porn and the scorn for poor people.
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The FT has excess mortality figures for England taken at May 1st.
“The Office for National Statistics said that in the week ending May 1, there had been 17,953 deaths in England and Wales recorded, 8,012 higher than the average of the past five years in that week, as the disease killed three times the normal number of people in care homes.”
Tabby Traveller shows Scotland’s figure at May 3rd. The average number of deaths in Scotland over the past five years was 1079. The recorded number for the day was 1673 of which 523 were caused by covid19. So, if my subtraction is right 594 more deaths than the 5 year average.
The FT went on to say:
“This represented the seventh consecutive week that deaths exceeded normal levels and once equivalent figures from Scotland and Northern Ireland were included, takes total mortality across the UK during the pandemic to 50,979.
Nick Stripe, head of life events at the ONS, told the BBC: “[The figures are] actually the seventh-highest weekly total since this data set started in 1993 so we have had four out of the top seven weeks in the last four weeks”.”
https://www.ft.com/content/40fc8904-febf-4a66-8d1c-ea3e48bbc034?desktop=true&segmentId=d8d3e364-5197-20eb-17cf-2437841d178a
https://www.travellingtabby.com/scotland-coronavirus-tracker/
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Fret not because come Independence day
These hacks and lackeys WIll have to update their CV in the hope someone will employ them cleaning toilets or stacking supermarket shelves.
Is their a more fitting fate that awaits them
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I’m stealing this table for my Facebook page.
Of course, it may never get there since this week quite a few of us are having problems: with 38degrees petitions mentioned on FB being taken down, blog posts shared to FB going missing and FB pages being hacked and disabled. Oddly, the 5 people I’ve spoken to this afternoon who have had this happen all live in Scotland and support independence. Coincidence, surely?
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