More than four in 10 Delta Covid hospital patients in England may have been admitted for a different illness, official figures suggest
More than four in 10 patients hospitalised with the Delta variant in England may have been admitted for something else, MailOnline's analysis of official data suggests.
Public Health England's fortnightly update on coronavirus strains circulating around the country showed 7,285 people had spent at least one night in hospital with the mutant virus by August 15.
But it admitted as many as 3,154 (43 per cent) had likely come to A&E for 'a diagnosis unrelated to Covid' and tested positive later through routine swabbing
Experts told MailOnline in June that the number of so-called 'incidental' Covid hospital admissions would rise if community transmission continued to stay stubbornly high.
The proportion of people testing positive for the strain after admission for a different illness has risen four per cent since then. By June 21, it was 39 per cent.
Reading University microbiologist Dr Simon Clarke said the numbers highlight the increasing numbers of patients unwittingly bringing the virus into hospitals — putting the most vulnerable at risk.
He told MailOnline: 'If someone is asymptomatic and they're admitted say, with an appendicitis or smashed ankle, then the hospital won't know that they're infected for about 24 hours, because that's how long it takes to get the test done.
'In that time they could easily have infected staff and other patients, some of whom will be especially vulnerable.'
Other scientists warned official figures were overestimating the number of Covid patients in hospital. But they did not rule out that an undiagnosed Covid infection may have flared up other underlying conditions.
However, it comes as the number of patients with Covid-19 in hospital in England has hit 6,000 for the first time in more than five months. The figure, which is a snapshot of patients as of 8am on August 23, is up 11 per cent on the previous week.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9911583/45-Delta-Covid-hospital-patients-England-test-positive-admission.html