The boss of NHS Providers, Daniel Elkeles, says people should wear a face mask if they start getting the ‘sniffles’ or other fly symptoms – as the Government backs the move
Anyone with cold or flu symptoms should wear a mask in public places, a top health leader has warned.
Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, says the current warm and wet weather is the perfect conditions for flu-like illnesses to spread as people gather indoors.
Mr Elkeles said: “When you were talking about anything like Covid, I think we need to get back into the habit that if you are coughing and sneezing, but you’re not unwell enough to not go to work, then you must wear a mask when you’re in public spaces, including on public transport to stop the chances of you giving your virus to somebody else.
READ MORE: NHS nurse who delivered world’s first Covid-19 vaccine warns ‘we’re getting complacent’READ MORE: Chris Whitty outlines how to avoid illness this Christmas in ‘crucial fortnight’
“And we were all very good about infection control during Covid. And we really, really need to get back to that now.” He added: “Children are still at school, it’s warm and wet, so it’s perfect flu-spreading conditions.”
It comes as Britain is braced for its worst flu season on record as a new aggressive flu strain called H3N2 is causing more severe illness even in otherwise healthy people.
NHS data released last week put average bed occupancy to flu at 1,717, which included 69 patients in critical care. This was 56% higher than the figure at this point in 2024 and 10 times higher than at this point in 2023, when there were an average of 243 flu patients in hospital.
Mr Elkeles was asked on Times Radio whether he meant people who have “got a cold, they’re snuffling, they are coughing” should wear a mask in the office. He replied: “I think that would be very sensible to all their colleagues, or probably their colleagues would say ‘please go home’.
“But we have really got to worry about the fact that this is a very nasty strain of flu. It spreads very easily. It’s warm and wet out there and people need to be sensible.”
It follows reports that schools are introducing Covid-style lockdowns to combat flu outbreaks. Classrooms have been shut, assemblies cancelled and pupils banned from singing in case they spread the “superflu”.
St Martin’s secondary school in Caerphilly, South Wales, closed after 242 pupils and 12 staff members fell sick and Congleton High School in Cheshire shut for three days.
Mr Elkeles added: “We really do need people to sit up and listen and have a big debate probably after this flu season about how we prepare the public better for what happens every year. So if you haven’t already had your flu vaccine and you’re eligible, please go and take it.”
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) estimates show that deaths from flu in England stood at 7,757 last winter compared with 3,555 the year before. Child deaths involving flu also increased from 34 to 53.
Data from Australia – which is six months ahead of the UK with its flu season – shows infections reached the highest levels since records began in 2001 while schools have closed in Japan due to a flu epidemic.
H3N2, has mutated to better escape immunity from previous vaccines. Jabs still offer significant protection – and often prevent serious illness – but less so than previous years.
Downing Street said to wear a mask to prevent the spread of respiratory illness was “something people can consider”.
A No 10 spokesman said: “There is long-standing guidance in place for people on a range of measures they can consider taking to help limit the spread of winter bugs if they have flu-like symptoms.
“This is neither new nor an instruction, but simply something people can consider when trying to limit the spread of winter respiratory illnesses. It’s been a long-standing position.
“The best defence against flu is the vaccine, which is why we’re ramping up our vaccination efforts this winter with almost 17 million flu jobs already delivered, which is 350,000 more than this time last year.”
What else can you do to try and avoid flu?
As flu spreads easily and can live on surfaces for 24 hours, frequent hand washing and coughing or sneezing into tissues which are immediately thrown in the bin can help.
Health leaders have also urged eligible people to come forward and get their flu jab.