Overview
- In a new post on X, the UK Health Security Agency shared a five-point checklist: wash hands, catch coughs and sneezes in a tissue, stay home if unwell, open windows when meeting indoors, consider wearing a face covering when going out.
- The guidance comes as flu, Covid, common colds and RSV typically circulate more widely during the colder months and can present overlapping symptoms of varying severity.
- Official figures show Covid cases up 1.9% in the week to October 8, deaths rising from 87 to 100 in the week to October 3, and hospital admissions increasing from 1,894 to 2,077 in the week to September 30.
- European experts, including Swiss public-health scientists, recommend masks in crowded enclosed spaces such as public transport, especially for older adults and people with weakened immune systems.
- Separately, researchers in China have reported an influenza D virus signal with possible human-to-human transmission, described as a developing concern primarily tied to animal reservoirs.