COVID-19 weekly surveillance report
The Isle of Man Government Public Health Directorate publish a weekly report which provides a summary of indicators used to understand the status of the current wave of Covid-19 in the Isle of Man.
Weekly reports can be found below, and this page is updated every Thursday with the previous weeks’ report.
The purpose of the public health surveillance report is to provide a clear and trusted data source which will help individuals, businesses and the wider community to make positive choices about how they manage the risk of COVID-19.
Whilst COVID-19 remains in our community, it is strongly advised that everyone wears a face covering when in close contact, enclosed and confined places, as well as maintaining good hygiene, increasing space and ventilation. View more information on the current guidance.
Summary of latest report (20 January 2022)
- The current 7-day average for reported positive results is around 191
- The current overall trend of reported positive results is decreasing
- The effective reproduction number (Rt) was 0.49 this week indicating that the omicron wave may now have peaked and that the rate of transmission is slowing.
- The snapshot census of the Hospital shows 7 patients currently admitted with a COVID positive status
Latest Updates
Due to changes in operational notifications systems to align with the Public Health Weekly Surveillance Report's methodology, the data for unconfirmed COVID deaths has been removed and will not feature in future reports. Confirmed COVID related deaths data will continue to be published.
This report is provided for transparency, and readers are encouraged to think carefully about the measures we each can take to prevent further spread of COVID-19.
What trends we expect to see over the next few months
We continue to be in a fourth wave of COVID infection, driven by the omicron variant which remains the dominant strain, accounting for the majority of our cases.
Cases have fallen again this week across most age groups. To date we are not seeing spread into older age groups or significant rises in infection in children and young people following school reopening.
Case ascertainment is, of course, dependent on patterns of testing and reporting so it is likely that there are more cases than are currently notified. This caveat has applied throughout the pandemic when COVID has been transmitting on Island, although the change to LFD self testing and self reporting may have impacted on that to an unknown extent. However, as the majority of omicron infections are mild, case numbers per se are now a less important measure than pressure on health and care services.
We are now seeing a continued trend towards a fall in cases. There was a slight rise in cases reported at the end of the week. On the data currently available, this does not indicate a trend towards a resurgence in case numbers and the position will become clearer as further data accrues.
Reviewed: January 2022
