Hospital admissions due to flu in London have risen by 14 per cent in a week, new figures show, despite signs that the latest wave of Covid has peaked.
An average of 325 patients were in hospital with flu in the capital in the week up to January 7, up by 40 on the previous week.
It remains slightly below the weekly average of 339 patients reported during the same period last year, when the UK experienced its worst flu season in years.
Flu hospitalisations peaked in London on January 3, with 366 beds occupied by flu patients - below the peak of 397 reached last winter.
Hospital bosses have warned that a surge in flu cases combined with a six-day walkout by junior doctors has led to extreme pressure on NHS services. The strike over pay ended at 7am on Tuesday.
The BMA is seeking a 35 per cent pay rise to correct a real-terms fall in income since 2008, but ministers have branded the demand “unaffordable”.
Meanwhile, separate figures published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the number of Covid infections in London has halved in the past fortnight.
Around 2.9 per cent of Londoners were estimated to have the virus in the two weeks up to January 3, down by 3.2 per cent on the week up to December 13. Nationally, prevalence fell by 1.1 per cent during the same period.
However, officials said the fall in transmission was expected over the festive period and that further data would be needed to confirm whether the fall in cases would be sustained.
Infection rates were highest among people aged between 18 and 44, while the lowest rates were found in children aged under 18.
Professor Steven Riley, Director General for Data and Surveillance at UKHSA said: "It is encouraging to see the first signs of a potential downturn in the rate of Covid-19 infection across the country. However, we should not assume that Covid-19 prevalence will rapidly drop to low levels.
"It is not unusual to see a temporary change in the transmission rates of respiratory infections over the Christmas period, when schools and workplaces are closed.
"It is still as important as ever that we continue to take sensible precautions to protect ourselves and those around us. If you are showing symptoms of COVID-19 or other respiratory illnesses, you should try to limit your contact with other people as much as possible, especially those who are older or more vulnerable."
Sir Andrew Pollard, Professor of Paediatric Infection and Immunity at the University of Oxford, said last week that we “always see a drop in cases over holiday periods”.
He told the Mirror: “It’s actually about what’s going to happen next as children go back to school on Monday, and most people have taken time off over New Year and are starting to go back to work. There is likely to be a rise in infections in the population over the course of the next week.”
