Covid-19: Lack of surveillance leaves UK in dark as hospital admissions rise, experts warn

The UK’s current method of recording Covid-19 cases “is not a sensible approach to managing the spread of infection,” virologists have warned.

Latest data showed an uptick in the number of UK covid cases and hospital admissions that experts said was “worrying, so early in autumn.”

The latest surveillance report from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) showed that in the week starting 15 September the overall weekly hospital admission rate for covid was 2.73 per 100 000 people. This was up by 60% from a month prior, when the rate was 1.71 per 100 000 in the week starting 18 August. And latest data from the following week show that covid cases rose 22%—from 2012 weekly cases to 2459—in the week to 24 September.

Amanda Doyle, NHS England’s primary care director, said, “It’s concerning to hear flu and covid-19 cases are already creeping up ahead of winter,” urging people who were eligible to come forward for vaccinations as soon as they could.3

But Young warned that reduced data now collected by the UK on the virus could mean that health officials were flying blind into the winter period. “The lack of routine [covid] testing means we have no idea about the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the general population, making it difficult to predict any future waves of infection,” he said.

Current testing predominantly focuses on hospital patients rather than community or primary care, which Young said could make it “difficult to identify and monitor outbreaks.” He added, “Relying on hospitalisations as a measure of surges in infection is not a sensible approach to managing the spread of infection and planning for pressures on the NHS.”

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Source: BMJ, 3 October 2025