You asked
Please publish information and figures, for each case, about whether a clinical diagnosis was made and whether there has been epidemiological exposure. Where "cases" are reported as hospitalised it should be made clear whether the person was routinely swabbed upon admission for non-Covid-19 related conditions, caught the infection in hospital or was admitted for treatment of Covid-19 symptoms.
Also, for each positive test, please provide the cycle threshold at which that positive result occurred should be published.
We said
Thank you for Freedom of Information request.
The COVID-19 Infection survey aims to understand the rates of positivity and incidence of COVID-19 in the community population. As such individuals in care homes, hospitals and other institutional settings are not included in the study. Therefore, we do not hold the information you have requested regarding hospitalised COVID-19 cases.
Individuals participating in the COVID-19 Infection survey are randomly selected and are tested every week for the first month and then every month from their first visit for a year. The COVID-19 Infection Survey tests everyone in the sample, regardless of whether they report they are experiencing symptoms.
Swabs are analysed using a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.
We have not found any sample which has been positive with a CT Value above 37, with the exception of one.
Our academic partner at the University of Oxford has been producing Threshold Cycle analysis. They plan to publish a paper on this later this year, which may be of interest to you.
Due to Statistical Disclosure Control, we would not be able to publish the full data set of threshold cycles for each positive case, as this would constitute personal information. Section 39 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (SRSA) renders it an offence to disclose information held by the Statistics Board for statistical purposes that would identify an individual or a body corporate. As we are prohibited by law from publishing statistics in which individuals can be identified, we find that Section 44 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) applies. Section 44 is an absolute exemption and no consideration of the public interest test needs to be applied.
However, this can be accessed through our Secure Research Environment for accredited researchers only. You can find information on this here.