This figure could be far higher as NHS England admitted the analysis was “flawed” as it had “probable” cases, which means it “will contain cases of people who did not catch Covid in hospital.”
NHS England said there were 40,229 “probable” and “definite” Covid infections caught in hospitals.
“Probable” defines those testing positive between eight to 14 days after being admitted, which means they could have caught the virus before their stay.
Whereas “definite” cases were recorded when a patient tested positive more than 14 days after their initial admission, meaning they must have caught Covid in the hospital.
These figures may sound alarming, but the likelihood of catching Covid in hospitals appears to vary between hospitals.