Overview
- NHS England reported an average of 2,660 flu patients in hospital per day last week, up 55% week on week, with 106 in intensive care.
- NHS medical director Meghana Pandit called the situation a "super-flu" producing an unprecedented wave of illness for this point in the season.
- Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the NHS faces its biggest challenge since the pandemic as pressures intensify.
- UKHSA attributes the surge to H3N2, which has mutated to reduce population immunity and is causing more severe illness in older people.
- At least four hospitals have declared temporary critical incidents as emergency departments report corridor care, while the government urges junior doctors to consider a new offer before a strike decision due Monday.