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Publication - Research and analysis

Coronavirus (COVID-19): modelling the epidemic (issue no. 52)

Published
20 May 2021
From
Director-General Health and Social Care
Directorate
Constitution Directorate
Topic
Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland, Health and social care
ISBN
9781800049987

Latest findings in modelling the COVID-19 epidemic in Scotland, both in terms of the spread of the disease through the population (epidemiological modelling) and of the demands it will place on the system, for example in terms of health care requirement.

View supporting documents Supporting documents

Technical Annex

How the modelling compares to the real data as it emerges

The following charts show the history of our modelling projections in comparison to estimates of the actual data. The infections projections were largely accurate during October to mid-December and from mid-January onward. During mid-December to mid-January, the projections underestimated the number of infections, due to the unforeseen effects of the new variant.

Figure 20. Infections projections versus actuals, for historical projections published between one and three weeks before the actual data came in.
A combination line and scatter graph comparing infections projections against actuals.

Hospital bed projections have generally been more precise than infections estimates due to being partially based on already known information about numbers of current infections, and number of people already in hospital. The projections are for number of people in hospital due to Covid-19, which is slightly different to the actuals, which are number of people in hospital within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test.

Figure 21. Hospital bed projections versus actuals, for historical projections published between one and three weeks before the actual data came in.
A combination line and scatter graph comparing hospital bed occupancy projections against actuals.

As with hospital beds, ICU bed projections have generally been more precise than infections. The projections are for number of people in ICU due to Covid-19. The actuals are number of people in ICU within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test up to 20 January, after which they include people in ICU over the 28 day limit.

Figure 22. ICU bed projections versus actuals, for historical projections published between one and three weeks before the actual data came in.
A combination line and scatter graph comparing ICU occupancy projections against actuals.
Table 1. Probability of local authority areas having more than 50, 100, 300 or 500 cases per 100K (30 May to 5 June 2021).
LA P (Cases > 500) P (Cases > 300) P (Cases > 100) P (Cases > 50)
Aberdeen City 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 15-25%
Aberdeenshire 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 5-15%
Angus 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 0-5%
Argyll and Bute 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 0-5%
City of Edinburgh 0-5% 0-5% 15-25% 25-50%
Clackmannanshire 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 5-15%
Dumfries & Galloway 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 5-15%
Dundee City 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 0-5%
East Ayrshire 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 5-15%
East Dunbartonshire 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 25-50%
East Lothian 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 0-5%
East Renfrewshire 0-5% 0-5% 25-50% 50-75%
Falkirk 0-5% 0-5% 5-15% 15-25%
Fife 0-5% 0-5% 15-25% 25-50%
Glasgow City 25-50% 25-50% 50-75% 75-100%
Highland 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 5-15%
Inverclyde 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 5-15%
Midlothian 5-15% 5-15% 15-25% 25-50%
Moray 0-5% 0-5% 15-25% 50-75%
Na h-Eileanan Siar 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 0-5%
North Ayrshire 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 5-15%
North Lanarkshire 5-15% 5-15% 15-25% 25-50%
Orkney Islands 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 0-5%
Perth and Kinross 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 5-15%
Renfrewshire 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 5-15%
Scottish Borders 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 0-5%
Shetland Islands 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 0-5%
South Ayrshire 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 5-15%
South Lanarkshire 0-5% 0-5% 15-25% 25-50%
Stirling 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 5-15%
West Dunbartonshire 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 5-15%
West Lothian 0-5% 0-5% 0-5% 5-15%

What levels of Covid-19 are indicated by wastewater data?

Table 2 provides population weighted daily averages for normalised WW Covid-19 levels in the week covering 9th – 15th May with no estimate for error. These units equate to cases per 100,000 per day.

Table 2. Average daily cases per 100k as given by WW data, 9 th – 15 th May
Local Authority Average daily WW Case Estimate per 100k Local Authority WW Coverage
Aberdeen City 2.31 80%
Aberdeenshire 2.89 47%
Angus 3.80 43%
Argyll and Bute 1.28 18%
City of Edinburgh 3.06 97%
Clackmannanshire 13.97 92%
Dumfries and Galloway 0.48 30%
Dundee City 3.80 100%
East Ayrshire 3.82 72%
East Dunbartonshire 19.81 99%
East Lothian 2.62 65%
East Renfrewshire 21.03 95%
Falkirk 5.31 69%
Fife 6.16 84%
Glasgow City 19.65 98%
Highland 3.00 36%
Inverclyde 9.12 92%
Midlothian 3.35 88%
Moray 3.55 55%
Na h-Eileanan Siar 0.00 21%
North Ayrshire 2.61 93%
North Lanarkshire 6.48 86%
Orkney Islands 0.28 34%
Perth and Kinross 2.88 45%
Renfrewshire 6.81 57%
Scottish Borders 1.28 56%
Shetland Islands 1.43 29%
South Ayrshire 3.66 82%
South Lanarkshire 8.87 79%
Stirling 0.81 10%
West Dunbartonshire 9.83 98%
West Lothian 2.66 85%

Contact

Email: modellingcoronavirus@gov.scot

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