UKHSA says ‘wear face masks’ as thousands fall ill with flu

The UK Health Security Agency is urging people to wear face masks as thousands of people fall ill with flu. Professor Susan Hopkins, the chief medical adviser at UKHSA, said people should stay home and limit contact with other people – especially vulnerable people – to slow the spread of the virus if they have symptoms.

She added: “If you have symptoms and need to leave the house, our advice remains that you should wear a face covering. Washing hands regularly and using and disposing tissues in bins can reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses.”

There were 14,500 excess deaths during last year’s flu season, and flu cases are higher this year. There were 4,689 people in hospital with flu in England in the last week of December. There were 5,074 patients with flu in hospital on Sunday, 29 December, up from 1,190 at the end of November.

A number of UK hospitals have brought back mandatory wearing of face masks in clinical areas – last seen during the Covid pandemic. More than 200 people are in intensive care fighting flu, with fears dropping temperatures and people returning to work and school could send numbers soaring.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, East Surrey Hospital, Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust are among those that have brought in safety measures with some requiring face masks and hand washing and others restricting visitors.

Paula Gardner, Shrewsbury and Telford’s interim chief nursing officer, said they are ‘asking all patients, visitors and staff to wear masks and practise good hand hygiene’.

Hospitals in Lincolnshire introduced mask rules last month.

According to the NHS, flu symptoms come on very quickly and can include:

  • a sudden high temperature
  • an aching body
  • feeling tired or exhausted
  • a dry cough
  • a sore throat
  • a headache
  • difficulty sleeping
  • loss of appetite
  • diarrhoea or tummy pain
  • feeling sick and being sick

The symptoms are similar for children, but they can also get pain in their ear and appear less active.

Image Credits and Reference: https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/health/ukhsa-says-wear-face-masks-30718646