The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) have changed the way that positive Covid tests are recorded.
Prior to yesterday (31st Jan 2022) if someone tested positive for Covid-19 more than once, only their first occurrence was recorded.
As more people are now finding themselves re-infected with different variants of Covid-19, the metrics for measuring the number of positive Covid tests has been updated to include reinfection after 90 days.
Gov: Caution should also be used
This major change means that stats for yesterday will be skewed (the C19 Dashboard states 1,297 new positive tests), as will the weekly rolling rate (1,585.82 per 100,000 of population).
A release from the Government states:
Figures by report date for 31 January for regions and local authorities within England should not be used as they include all reinfections added today.
Caution should also be used when looking at the 7-day totals and change figures presented on the postcode search page for the next 14 days.
Riley: Daily reporting processes should reflect how virus has changed
Professor Steven Riley, UKHSA’s Director General of Data and Analytics, said,
“Reinfection remained at very low levels until the start of the Omicron wave. It is right that our daily reporting processes reflect how the virus has changed.
“We continue to see downward trends in case numbers and incidence of illness as we work to reduce the impact of the pandemic on our day-to-day lives.
“With vaccination still a great defence against infection and illness, please get jabbed as soon as possible.”
You can read more about the changes on the Government Website.
Image: Martin Sanchez under CC BY 2.0
