Hospitals across parts of England have urged everyone to bring back masks as exponential rise in super flu cases exerts pressure on the NHS.
Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot and Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey have reintroduced mask requirements for patients, staff, and visitors following a spike in flu cases that doubled in the last two weeks.
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust stated multiple wards have faced outbreaks, with the dominant H3N2 strain explained as “particularly virulent.”
Additional hand gel stations are being installed across hospital sites, and masks will be provided outside the clinical wards.
Respiratory consultant Dr Gareth Roberts stated that the early arrival of the flu season has intensified the situations across hospitals.
Gareth stated, “These steps are not taken lightly, but they are vital to protect our staff and patients.”
Flu hospitalisations in the last week of November were 63% increased as compared to the last week, according to the UK Health Security Agency.
Amid increasing pressure due to infections, NHS leaders have issued warning of “tidal wave” of winter illness, encouraging the public to take precautionary measures.
Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, strongly advised anyone with cold and flu symptoms to wear a mask in public places.
He stated, “We were very good about infection control during Covid, We need to get back to that now to stop spreading this nasty strain.”
