Update to national respiratory infection and COVID-19 statistics – News

As part of our continuous review of reporting, Public Health Scotland (PHS) is changing how we present information relating to respiratory infections in Scotland.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic response, PHS published weekly COVID-19 statistical reports. From 2 February 2023, during the 2022/23 winter flu season, this weekly report was included in the National Respiratory Infection report as a separate section to give a comprehensive overview of respiratory illness in Scotland. 

Following a review of all the data included in the report, the two sections have been fully integrated for the 2023/24 flu season, which has provided an opportunity to reflect these changes in the title.

As a result, the current ‘National respiratory infection and COVID-19 statistics’ publication will be renamed the ‘Viral Respiratory Diseases (including Influenza and COVID-19) in Scotland Surveillance Report’.

An accompanying dashboard is also published alongside the report. This will also be updated to present an integrated picture of respiratory infections in Scotland.  

The report and dashboard will resume a weekly publication schedule during the Winter season and will be updated each Thursday at 9.30am. The first of this newly titled report and updated dashboard will be published on 12 October 2023.

Furthermore, as of 28 September 2023, PHS discontinued separate weekly reporting of cases of the COVID variant BA.2.86 in Scotland on our website. Standard reporting on BA.2.86 and other COVID-19 variants circulating in Scotland will resume in our renamed ‘Viral Respiratory Diseases (including Influenza and COVID-19) in Scotland: Surveillance Report’ from 12 October 2023.

View the latest ‘National respiratory infection and COVID-19 statistics’ report