Overview
- Daily influenza hospitalisations in England have exceeded about 2,600, with NHS leaders describing unprecedented pressure during an unusually early surge.
- UKHSA reports test positivity at 17.1% with the sharpest increases among children aged 5–14, and some schools have reinstated hygiene measures or brief closures.
- Health Secretary Wes Streeting calls the situation the most severe challenge since the pandemic, while London’s NHS leadership says demand remains within capacity, and a five‑day junior doctors’ strike is set to start on 17 December.
- The World Health Organization says there is no evidence the K subclade causes more severe disease, and seasonal vaccines remain an essential defence against serious outcomes.
- Italy recorded about 695,000 new acute respiratory infections in the week of 1–7 December, bringing the total to roughly 4 million, as analyses warn of likely wider Northern Hemisphere spread and experts project an Italian peak in early to mid‑January.