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Correction to COVID-19 case rates data

Between 10 April and 27 April, published rolling-average case rates for COVID-19 were incorrect due to an error in population estimates used to calculate these metrics. As of 4pm on 28 April, these have been corrected. More information.

BackEntry title:

COVID-19 percentage change in new patients compared with previous 7 days

Last updated on Wednesday, 12 February 2025 at 10:31am

Summary

Topic
COVID-19
Category
headline
API name
COVID-19_headline_7DayAdmissionsPercentChange

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 percentage difference in the number of confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital in the last 7 days compared with the previous 7 day period.

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.

The percentage change in new admissions is calculated as the difference between:

  • the total number of admissions in the latest 7 days and
  • the total number of admissions in the previous 7 days

The difference is then divided by the total number of admissions in the previous 7 days.

Caveats

A change from 0 to a number greater than 0 will be displayed as an 100% increase. A change from a number greater than 0 to 0 will be displayed as -100% that is, a 100% decrease.

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