More than half of ‘Covid’ hospitalisations are ‘patients who tested positive AFTER admission’, leaked data reveals

More than half of ‘Covid’ hospitalisations are ‘patients who tested positive AFTER admission’, leaked data reveals

Figures show patients were eventually diagnosed with Covid through routine testing that is required for everyone admitted to the hospital.

The data, covering all NHS trusts in England, suggests that as of last Thursday, just 44 per cent of Covid patients had tested positive by the time they were admitted, the Telegraph reports. The majority of cases were not detected until the standard Covid tests were carried out.

Fifty six per cent of Covid hospitalisations fell into this category, the data suggests. The NHS has been told to provide “a breakdown of the current stock of Covid patients” by separating those in hospital for the virus and those for other reasons, the Telegraph reports.

However, bosses have not yet revealed the data.

But the leaked figures suggest the majority of patients may have been admitted for other ailments. The breakdown of daily Covid hospital diagnoses shows that out of 780 hospitalisations last Thursday, 44 per cent involved people who tested positive within two weeks before they entered hospital.

A further 43 per cent tested positive within two days of admission, and 13 per cent after admission. Experts claimed the evidence suggests a vast number of patients were admitted for other reasons.

Prof Carl Heneghan, director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at the University of Oxford, said: “This data is incredibly important, and it should be published on an ongoing basis.