#16,465
Warning once again of incomplete data (see below) the UKHSA reported another record number of COVID cases (n=129,461) over the past 24 hours, and have updated their daily Omicron Overview Report.
28 December 2021
Log category : DATA ISSUE Incomplete data for cases due to the holidays
During the holidays, consistency of cases data for different areas vary for both publish and specimen date metrics:
- Figures for Wales represent the sum of figures that would have been reported on 25 and 26 December 2021.
- Provisional figures for Scotland are not included in the data. They will be added to the time series once confirmed.
- No figures have been reported for Northern Ireland.
See the breakdown of cases by publish date for 28 December 2021 in the details section.
The crucial hospitalization numbers, as mentioned in yesterday's blog, still have not been updated since Dec 20th.
The Omicron Daily Update for the 28th, however, shows another big jump in Omicron cases (+17K), hospitalizations (+261), and Omicron-related deaths (+10). These figures are also incomplete, however.
While it is difficult, without better patient information, to speculate on the relative severity of Omicron based on these 668 hospitalizations and 50 deaths, these numbers to suggest that some Omicron cases are seeing severe - and sometimes fatal - illness.
Some of these data reporting issues will be resolved by late next week, after the New Year's Holiday, but the number of cases, the difficulty in identifying Omicron cases, and overwhelmed and short-staffed hospitals will likely still take their toll on data collection.
