FOI Ref: FOI/2021/3443
You asked
Please supply the cycle threshold(ct) used in UK hospitals in PCR tests for patients and staff since the declaration of the pandemic in 2020.
We said
Thank you for your request.
The Office for National Statistics COVID-19 Infection Survey (CIS) is a household survey that estimates the number of people testing positive for infection and for antibodies in the UK. Our statistics refer to the number of current COVID-19 infections within the population living in private residential households. We exclude those in hospitals, care homes and/or other communal establishments. In communal establishments, rates of COVID-19 infection are likely to be different.
Our COVID-19 Infection Survey is not responsible for setting the Cycle threshold (Ct) values used in RT-PCR tests, therefore this information is not held. Moreover, as the CIS is a household sample survey and does not include those in hospitals, we cannot provide information on testing conducted in hospitals. The UKHSA may be able to provide you with the data you are looking for. They can be contacted using the following email address: informationrights@ukhsa.gov.uk.
You may be interested in the technical dataset accompanying our latest Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey bulletin, where you can find the percentage of COVID-19 positive cases by gene pattern and Cycle threshold (Ct) value for each of the four UK nations on tab 1a.
Further information and an overview of data about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and other sources can be found in our Coronavirus (COVID-19) latest insights tool.