Health chiefs have warned that the NHS is facing the ‘worst case scenario’ this winter with the latest figures revealing that hospitals are already facing record demand as mutant flu sweeps across the country.
Emergency departments across the country are already at capacity with patients being turned away from their local hospital.
A record number of A&E arrivals have been diverted in the last week which up 60 per cent from the same week last year, and higher than the previous record of 55, in January this year.
This comes as new monthly figures today show A&E attendances were a record for November, over 75,000 people everyday were being rushed to hospital.
With a total of 2.35 million in A&E, which is more than 30,000 higher than November 2024, while there were 48,814 more ambulance incidents compared to last year.
Follow the Daily Mail’s live blog below for the latest developments.
Breaking:Children aged five to 14 most hit by flu cases
UK Health Security Agency has released new data that shows the positivity rate of flu increased to 21 per cent in the week ending 10 December – up from 17 per cent last week.
It also revealed that children and young people aged 5 to 14 had the highest positivity rates at 45.9 per cent.
The positivity rate is the percentage of tests for an illness that come back positive.
WATCH: Superflu triggers NHS ‘worst case scenario’ as hospitalisations soar
Health officials advise people to stay home
Dr Suzanna McDonald, the national lead for the influenza programme at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), told the BBC that if you’re showing symptoms of flu you should consider wearing a face mask or stay at home.
You can consider wearing a face mask but the first thing you should do to limit the spread of infection is stay at home.
In particular, you need to avoid mixing with anyone who might be more vulnerable if they were to catch flu.
She added that if you can’t stay home, then you should make sure you are only going to outdoor spaces or indoor locations that are well ventilated, or with opened windows.
What are the ‘superflu’ symptoms?
Typical symptoms of H3N2 influenza are similar to seasonal flu and can include:
Fever
Cough
Runny nose
Body aches
Vomiting
Diarrhoea
Flu symptoms develop one to three days after becoming infected and while most cases of flu are over within a week, people can still feel exhausted and suffer from a lingering cough for weeks afterwards.
What is H3N2 and why is this strain more concerning?
The strain, dubbed subclade K or the ‘super flu’ by others, is the one widely in circulation at the moment and is in part behind the rise in cases.
The strain has mutated seven times over the summer, helping it to evade previous immunity, sparking alarm among experts.
These genetic mutations have made it ‘hotter’ and ‘nastier’, virologists warned, making it more infectious.
It is also different to flu strains seen in the UK in recent years, meaning people are less immune if they contract it, because their body is unfamiliar with the virus.
NHS grapples with threat of doctors strikes
The NHS is also grappling with the threat of resident doctors going on strike next week in a dispute with the Government over pay and jobs.
Mr Streeting has offered the British Medical Association (BMA) a last-minute deal in the hope of avoiding a five-day strike, which starts next Wednesday.
The doctors’ union has agreed to put the offer to members over the coming days and, if they support it, the strike could be called off.
The offer includes a fast expansion of specialist training posts as well as covering out-of-pocket expenses such as exam fees, but does not include extra pay.
Mr Streeting said on Thursday:
The offer I have made to the BMA would help solve the jobs problem resident doctors are facing, and bring an end to strike action this Christmas, which is the most dangerous time of year.
I urge resident doctors not to inflict further damage on the NHS, vote for this deal, and call off the Christmas strikes.
UK supermarkets running out of medicine and handwash
Supermarkets across Britain are seemingly running out of medicine and handwash amid this superflu outbreak.
There were empty shelves in Tesco in Cambridge today as the store ran out of Lemsip and Strepsils.
The supermarket was also running low on Panadol, Paracetamol and Nurofen as customers rush to stock up on medicine.
Sainsbury’s supermarket in Cambridge had also run out of foaming handwash, whilst Boots in Cambridge had run out of Ibuprofen, Nurofen and Night Nurse.
Flu patients in hospitals up 55 per cent in a week
There were an average of 2,660 patients a day in hospital with flu in England last week – a rise of 55 per cent on last week.
NHS England said there were now enough flu patients to fill more than three whole hospital trusts.
Projections have suggested there could be between 5,000 and 8,000 hospital cases by the end of this week. The highest ever recorded was 5,400.