COVID-19 new patients in the last 7 days
Last updated on Wednesday, 12 February 2025 at 10:31am
Summary
- Topic
- COVID-19
- Category
- headline
- API name
COVID-19_headline_7DayAdmissions
Rationale
Understanding rates and patterns of hospital admissions can help to inform planning around hospital pressures including beds and staffing.
Definition
This metric shows the number of patients with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to hospital or confirmed positive at some point after admission in the last 7 days.
Methodology
This data includes people admitted to hospital who tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 5 days following a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test or lateral flow device (LFD) test. Hospital inpatients who are diagnosed with COVID-19 after admission are counted against the date one day prior to their diagnosis.
Admissions figures include people admitted to NHS acute hospitals and mental health and learning disability (MHLD) trusts.
NHS England publishes updates on the second Thursday of each month. These cover data for the previous month.