You asked
Please can you provide information around how many people returning from countries subject to hotel quarantine measures have tested positive on a) Day 2 and b) Day 8 of the 10 day period from 15 February to 31 March 2021.
In addition to this, can you provide information relating to how many people have shown symptoms and tested negative?
We said
Thank you for your request.
We do not hold information regarding the number of people returning from countries and subject to hotel quarantine measures and when they have tested positive for COVID-19. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) may be better placed to assist with this query. They can be contacted via the following link to their contact form: DHSC FOI Contact Form.
Our academic partners are currently working on research into the those who have shown symptoms of COVID-19, but have tested negative, with an intention to publish their findings in the future. As such, this information is considered exempt under Section 22A of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
The release of the findings of this ongoing research prior to the results being quality assured and finalised could jeopardise the good reputation of the ONS and Oxford University. Both organisations require time and space to ensure that their findings are accurate and fully investigated. Release of this information prior to this process would cause reputational damage to the two organisations and jeopardise the research itself, as release at this stage could allow incorrect conclusions to be drawn from the evidence.
This exemption is subject to a public interest test. We recognise the desirability of information being freely available and this is considered by ONS when publication schedules are set in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The need for timely data must be balanced against the practicalities of applying statistical skill and judgement to produce the high quality, assured data needed to inform decision-making. If this balance is incorrectly applied, then we run the risk of decisions being based on inaccurate data which is arguably not in the public interest. This will have an impact on public trust in official statistics in a time when accuracy of official statistics is more important to the public than ever before.