COVID-19 reporting to include further data on reinfections

Public Health Scotland (PHS) continues to seek to provide the most accurate information available on cases of COVID-19 amongst the population in Scotland. 

The PHS COVID-19 Winter Weekly Report issued on 02 February 2022 provided interim data on reinfections in Scotland.

From 1 March 2022, PHS will include episodes of reinfection within COVID-19 reporting. Currently COVID-19 cases are based on an individual’s first positive test result only. The new daily case calculation will include both new infections and possible reinfections. Possible reinfections are defined as individuals who test positive, by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or lateral flow device (LFD), 90 days or more after their last positive test.

This update to reporting will ensure that PHS’s surveillance data reflects underlying transmission rates.

The change will be applied retrospectively to all trend data reported since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and will be reflected on the COVID-19 Daily Dashboard and open data files from 1 March 2022. In addition, any deaths or hospital admissions that had been reported following possible reinfection will be reported on the dashboard.

For more detailed information about PHS’s role in producing statistics to monitor the COVID-19 outbreak, please contact: PHS.Covid19Data&Analytics@phs.scot.