PHE says nine in 10 medics who caught Covid did so in hospitals

UP to nine in 10 nurses and doctors who caught Covid-19 during the peak of the pandemic picked it up in hospital, research suggests.

Modelling by Public Health England (PHE) also suggests one in five patients who got the virus became infected on the wards.

Scientists called for a war on Covid-19 transmission within hospitals, in the same way that the NHS had previously battled superbugs like MRSA.

They warned that a lack of physical distancing between staff – not just on wards, but also in canteens, offices and corridors – fuelled the spread of disease.

A report by the Royal Society’s Data Evaluation and Learning for Viral Epidemics (Delve) group, which advises the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), examined a number of studies.

Among them is modelling by PHE, dated May 20, which suggests that “approximately 20 per cent of infections in inpatients and 89 per cent of infections in healthcare workers were due to nosocomial [hospital-acquired] transmission.”

Despite widespread advice to the public to practise social distancing, it was not until May 18 that PHE updated its own infection control advice to trusts on how to keep workers apart.

And it was not until June that all hospital staff were advised to wear masks.

Researchers from Delve said their estimates, suggested that from April 26 to June 7, about 10 per cent of all Covid-19 infections in England were among front line health and care workers.

Dr Guy Harling, from University College London, said: “We can see things like inconsistent use of masks and PPE. We can see a lack of physical distancing … between staff between patients between staff and patients. So not just on wards or in theatres, but also in canteens, and offices in corridors.”

Dr Nigel Field, chairman of the Delve working group said: “We’d like to see a really ambitious and comprehensive approach to the prevention of Covid-19 transmission in hospitals and care settings of the kind that was really successfully implemented for MRSA.”