Burak Bir
03 January 2025•Update: 03 January 2025
LONDON
Flu cases have continued to skyrocket in England with over 5,000 patients hospitalized ahead of New Year, according to official data released on Friday.
New National Health Service (NHS) figure covering the Christmas and New Year period revealed that last week there were an average of 4,469 patients with flu in hospitals each day, almost 3.5 times higher than the same week last year, including 211 a day in critical care.
The data showed there were 4,102 patients in hospital with flu on Christmas Day, rising sharply by almost a quarter to 5,074 by Sunday, Dec. 29, NHS England said in a statement.
The new figures mean flu cases in hospital have quadrupled in a month with 1,190 on Nov. 29.
The NHS warned that pressure continue going into 2025, with amber cold health alerts for England issued by UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as temperatures in the coming days are set to drop below freezing.
"Hospitals are still experiencing pressure from a range of viruses, with an average of 723 patients with norovirus in hospital in the week ending 22 Dec, and 528 patients each day last week – although this has come down, it remains 40% higher than 378 the same week last year."
There was also an average of 74 children with RSV in hospital every day last week, up almost half on 50 for the same period in 2023, as well as an average of 1,184 beds occupied by patients with COVID, it noted.
"These latest figures show the pressure from flu was nowhere near letting up before we headed into the New Year, skyrocketing to over 5,000 cases a day in hospital as of the end of last week and rising at a very concerning rate," said Julian Redhead, NHS national clinical director for urgent and emergency care.
He warned that on top of flu there is also continual pressure from COVID, while Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and norovirus hospital cases are also higher than last year.
"The tidal wave of flu this winter has seen more than three times as many patients in hospital compared with last year, putting huge pressures on the NHS," Health Secretary Wes Streeting said in the statement.
