Wear a mask to tackle ‘tidal wave of flu’ as UK cases explode, public urged
A senior NHS executive has urged people with cold or flu symptoms to wear a mask in public as the healthcare sector prepares for a “tidal wave” of the disease this winter.
Anyone who coughs or sneezes should wear a mask, including in the office or on transport, NHS Providers chief executive Daniel Elkeles warned that a “bad” strain of flu had emerged earlier than usual this year.
Speaking to Times Radio, the NHS leader also slammed junior doctors’ strike next week, which he said would harm patients at a time when the NHS is under extra pressure.
He said: “When we’re talking about something like Covid, I think we need to get back into the habit that if you’re coughing and sneezing but you’re not too sick to go to work, you should wear a mask in public spaces, including public transport, to prevent the possibility of passing your virus on to someone else.
“And we were all very good at infection control during Covid. Now we really, really need to get back to that.”
Mr. Elkeles said the peak of the flu this winter could be worse than in previous years because warm, wet weather combined with children still in school created perfect conditions for the flu to spread.
“We probably need to have a big discussion after this flu season about how to better prepare the public for what happens every year,” he said.
The NHS leader also urged those who are eligible to get their flu jab. Hospital admissions due to flu in the UK are at record levels for this time of the year.
Health bosses have warned that the new H3N2 strain, dubbed super flu, could bring a wave of illness before Christmas.
Mr Elkeles said doctors going on strike was a major challenge for the health service and agreed with concerns from “very senior doctors” at the Academy of the Royal College of Medicine that next week’s strike could harm patients.
He said: “It’s not too late for junior doctors and the Government to find enough common ground in their conversations to say, ‘We are committed to resolving this dispute, but what will really harm the NHS and harm patients is a strike next week.'”
NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey described the doctors’ decision to strike as “a cruel thing” and “calculated to cause disruption at a time when the service is really doing everything it can to avoid it and keep people safe”.
