Only one Omicron patient needed intensive care since first Scots cases

Only one patient with confirmed Omicron has required intensive care since the variant emerged in Scotland five weeks ago, according to official figures, which suggest fewer than 100 people with the new variant have needed hospital treatment.

The figures were described by the Scottish Government as encouraging last night but there was also a warning cases linked to the more infectious variant could still pile pressure on NHS Scotland because so many Scots are catching it and a proportion of them will get seriously ill.

One in 40 people in Scotland were estimated to have Covid last week, official figures show, with around 80% of new cases shown to be Omicron, according to the first minister.

The number of people in hospital who have Covid has almost doubled in the last two week to 859 but it is not yet known how many tested positive while in hospital for other issues.

Ministers are expected to cut the self-isolation period from 10 days to seven within days – to bring Scotland in line with the other UK nations – amid continuing concern over the availability of tests. At the end of last week people trying to book PCR tests through a UK government online portal were told there were no slots or they were offered tests at locations up to 60 miles from their homes.

Analysis is ongoing to determine which hospital patients are being treated for a Covid-related illness and which patients have tested positive but do not have symptoms.

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The Omicron figures published by the Scottish Government on Friday show a total of 91 people confirmed to have contracted the variant have required hospital treatment and one has needed intensive care.

It comes as new research by the UK Health Security Agency suggests a booster vaccine is 88% effective at preventing people ending up in hospital with Covid.

Scottish Government data shows the unvaccinated are 12.5 times more likely to be in hospital with Covid than those that had received a booster.

Professor of public health Linda Bauld, a Scottish Government advisor, said: “It looks like the odds of needing ventilation and intensive care are lower than they were and that’s no doubt largely due to vaccines and boosters.

“But it’s still likely you are going to get older people in particular who will need hospital care and potentially intensive care. We just don’t yet know how many of them.

“In London, what seems to be happening is some of the intensive care consultants are being asked to go on to the general medical wards because there are so many patients there. So, intensive care wards are not overstretched but other wards are overstretched.

“That just means you have a high volume of patients but they might not be as unwell, which is encouraging.

“It’s good news for individuals who pick it up but the concerns are the pressures on the sector now. The main worry at the moment is staff absences.”

Omicron less likely to result in hospital admission – UK Health Security Agency

More than 3,300 health service staff were off for coronavirus-related reasons last week, mostly self-isolation, including nearly 1,800 nurses and midwives.

The Royal College of Nursing said some members are struggling to book a slot for PCR tests. Colin Poolman, RCN’s interim director, said: “As the number of staff forced into sickness absence due to Covid-related reasons continues to increase it is vital staff have access to tests to protect themselves, their families and their patients.

“Making tests available for nursing staff and their families must continue to be a priority as well as ensuring there is the lab capacity for analysing tests.”

Scottish Labour’s Health and Covid Recovery spokesperson Jackie Baillie said the testing system is not coping.

“It is nothing short of a disgrace that even essential workers are struggling to book tests,” she said. “Our NHS will be plunged into total chaos if these issues are not resolved as a matter of urgency.

“People are being bombarded with reminders from the Scottish Government to book a test if they have symptoms – only to find there aren’t any tests to book.”

The Scottish Conservatives welcomed the new figures which show a low number of confirmed Omicron cases needed hospital treatment and called for an overhaul of self-isolation rules.

In a statement, the party said: “The government data suggests that despite Omicron’s high level of transmissibility, we are not yet seeing this reflected in hospitalisation numbers.

“The SNP Government need to seriously consider this information ahead of any potential changes to the current restrictions that are damaging businesses and livelihoods.

“As a priority the government should update the self-isolation rules which continue to put pressure on our essential services – making these changes sooner rather than later will allow those who test negative to safety exit self-isolation and ease the strain on public services.”

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England, Wales and Northern Ireland have already cut the Covid isolation period to seven days and in the United States it is now five days, dependent on a negative test.

Health secretary Humza Yousaf said last week ministers are looking at self-isolation rules with great pace and urgency. Cabinet is expected to meet this week to decide on any changes.

The Scottish Government said: “It is encouraging that emerging evidence shows that the proportion of people contracting Omicron who are requiring hospital care might be lower.

“However, it is still important to take care that we do not allow the much higher transmissibility of Omicron to outweigh the benefits of its potential lower severity.

“Both direct and incidental Covid hospital admissions put pressure on acute services. An individual infection could be relatively mild for the vast majority of people, but the potential for all these infections to come at once and put serious strain on the NHS remains.”

The Scottish Government added that the testing system is one of the best in the world but it does not have infinite capacity and those who are unable to get a test should keep trying because new slots become available on the booking portal throughout the day.

The UK government did not respond.