Hospital onset COVID-19 cases in Scotland
Week ending 01 March 2020 to week ending 3 July 2022

About this release

This release provides data for COVID-19 hospital onset cases in Scotland from week ending 1 March 2020 to week ending 3 July 2022. A system for monitoring COVID-19 is critical to tracking hospital transmission. This helps to inform infection prevention and control measures. The transmission of COVID-19 is thought to occur mainly through respiratory droplets generated by coughing and through contact with contaminated surfaces. Further information on the epidemiology of COVID-19 in healthcare settings can be found on the Public Health Scotland website.

Due to the cessation of almost all population for SARS-CoV-2 at the end of April 2022, the inclusion of community onset cases in this report has been discontinued.

Main points

Breakdown of COVID-19 cases by hospital onset status – weekly data

The total number of hospital onset COVID-19 cases reported to ARHAI Scotland this week (week ending 3 July 2022) was 932. Of these:

• 519 (55.7% of all hospital onset COVID-19 cases) were reported as non-hospital onset (first positive specimen of COVID-19 episode on day 1 or 2 of admission to NHS board), of which 55 (10.6% of non-hospital onset cases) were reinfections. In the previous week (week ending 26 June 2022) there were 490 (56.1% of all hospital onset COVID-19 cases), of which 54 (11.0% of non-hospital onset cases) were reinfections.
• 110 (11.8% of all hospital onset COVID-19 cases) were reported as indeterminate hospital onset (first positive specimen of COVID-19 episode on days 3 to 7 of admission to NHS board), of which 9 (8.2% of indeterminate hospital onset cases) were reinfections. In the previous week (week ending 26 June 2022) there were 103 (11.8% of all hospital onset COVID-19 cases), of which 11 (10.7% of indeterminate hospital onset cases) were reinfections.
• 82 (8.8% of all hospital onset COVID-19 cases) were reported as probable hospital onset (first positive specimen of COVID-19 episode on days 8 to 14 of admission to NHS board), of which 8 (9.8% of probable hospital onset cases) were reinfections. In the previous week (week ending 26 June 2022) there were 89 (10.2% of all hospital onset COVID-19 cases), of which 6 (6.7% of probable hospital onset cases) were reinfections.
• 221 (23.7% of all hospital onset COVID-19 cases) were reported as definite hospital onset (first positive specimen of COVID-19 episode 15 or more days after admission to NHS board), of which 28 (12.7% of definite hospital onset cases) were reinfections. In the previous week (week ending 26 June 2022) there were 191 (21.9% of all hospital onset COVID-19 cases), of which 16 (8.4% of definite hospital onset cases) were reinfections.
  
  

Figure 1: Epidemic curve of COVID-19 cases with first positive specimen of COVID-19 episode taken during an inpatient stay, by onset status: week-ending 01 March 2020 to week-ending 3 July 2022 (n=39,417). ^1,2

Figure 1: Epidemic curve of COVID-19 cases with first positive specimen of COVID-19 episode taken during an inpatient stay, by onset status: week-ending 01 March 2020 to week-ending 03 July 2022 (n=39.417). Figure 1 is an epidemic curve of COVID-19 cases with first positive specimen of the COVID-19 episode taken during an inpatient stay. The length of the bars are the counts of COVID-19 cases during each week, from week ending 01 March 2020 to week ending 03 July 2022. The bars are broken down by hospital onset status: non-hospital onset, indeterminate hospital onset, probable hospital onset, and definite hospital onset. The chart shows several increases and subsequent decreases in overall cases and definite hospital onset cases. During these waves, peaks in probable and definite hospital onset cases occurred on week ending 05 April 2020, week ending 17 January 2021, week ending 09 January 2022, and most recently the largest peak in cases was in week ending 27 March 2022. Since this peak, a downward trend was observed, before cases started to increase again from week ending 29 May 2022.

Close

<sup>1. Source of data are Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW) that contains test results from Electronic Communication of Surveillance in Scotland (ECOSS) and Rapid Admission Preliminary Inpatient Data (RAPID) or local admission data.
2. Data include any reinfection episodes from samples taken during an inpatient stay in hospital</sup>

Background

Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection (ARHAI) Scotland, part of National Services Scotland, works closely with Public Health Scotland to deliver the COVID-19 response. Local and national monitoring in hospital settings is required to reduce COVID-19 infections.

Further information

The next release of this publication will be 3 August 2022