There are now concerns that the simultaneous onslaught of flu and Covid could overburden the NHS, which is already struggling to deal with record delays. Figures from the southern hemisphere, usually a foreshadowing of what will happen in the UK, point to a wave of flu two months earlier than normal, mainly from people under 30. It suggests a surge in flu hospital admissions in Britain could start as early as October, including many children. This year’s flu season could be longer and worse as it combines with Covid to create a dangerous ‘didemic’, doctors have warned One estimate suggests that the flu season may be twice as long as normal. Sir Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases at the University of Oxford, told the Mirror: “It could come earlier and longer, then you have a ‘didemic’ with Covid-19 and that could put real pressure on the NHS. In a typical flu season there are 15,000 to 30,000 hospitalizations due to the virus. Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor of cellular microbiology at Reading University, also said: ‘We’ve never had [flu and Covid] double hearth so I’m worried this UK season might be particularly bad. “Getting flu and Covid together is particularly dangerous. “We have the NHS under enormous pressure as it goes [from the pandemic] so you have a problem there.”
Health service waiting lists have reached a record 6.8 million in England, with A&Es often full and ambulances often queuing outside with patients they cannot discharge In a typical flu season there are between 15,000 and 30,000 hospitalizations due to the virus Health service waiting lists have reached a record 6.8 million in England, with A&Es often full and ambulances often queuing outside with patients they cannot discharge.
It also comes as the coronavirus could be on the brink of a resurgence, leading experts have claimed amid signs the virus has already recovered in parts of England. Official figures released yesterday showed the country’s outbreak is smaller than it has been for almost a year, with just 705,000 people in England believed to be infected — around one in 75. It was down 9 percent from the Office for National Statistics’ previous weekly estimate. But while cases have been dipping across the country since mid-July, scientists predict they will inevitably rise again in the coming weeks as people spend more time indoors, students return to classrooms and students return to university.
Covid infections have already started to rise again, up 20 per cent on two weeks ago, with one in 42 people currently having the virus, the latest figures show. The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday (19 September) and the memorial services held last week for her death have sparked suggestions that the huge crowds could fuel the spread of the virus. However, Professor Hunter said he did not think the events would “play a big role” in raising rates. After the Platinum Jubilee in June, “although cases increased, they increased too early to be due to the Jubilee and were probably more about school holidays and people going abroad than mass gatherings,” he told MailOnline. The Women’s Euros, seen as another source of mass gathering, had almost no “real impact” on rates, he added. The weekly estimates published by the ONS, which are closely monitored by the government, are considered the most accurate way of monitoring the shape of the epidemic in the UK. Unlike the number of reported infections, which has been wildly inaccurate since the scrapping of the mass testing program in April, it is not based on Britons testing themselves and reporting the result. Cases also fell in Wales (28,200, down 11%) and Northern Ireland (33,700, down 12 per cent), although the ONS was not entirely sure of the overall trend. However, in Scotland, the prevalence rose to 113,500 – a 9 per cent increase on the previous week. The figures — which reflect the week ending September 5 — are based on swabs from a representative sample that includes thousands of people. When broken down by region, it showed that cases were increasing in the South West and Yorkshire (1.5 per cent prevalence) and the Humber (1.3 per cent). Separate NHS England statistics published two days ago also show a sharp rise in the average number of Covid hospital admissions in the South West, compared to the previous week. Between September 5 and September 12, admissions in the region rose by almost a fifth (18.9 per cent) from an average of 43 a day to 52. But overall, an average of 519 people infected with Covid were admitted to hospital with the virus in England in the week to September 12 — eight times lower than the levels seen at the peak. Not all of these patients are necessarily sick with the virus.