Coronavirus: 'Wrong time to lift restrictions' says Greenhalgh
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The “super cold”, as it was coined by late 2021, is still here in spring, as Doctor Ollie Hart – a GP at Sloan Medical Centre in Sheffield – pointed out. “In our practice, I think we have seen an increase in people coming in with flu or cold-like symptoms,” said Dr Hart. “It’s felt like more than usual for this time of year and there seems to be quite a high occurrence.”
The doctor said his “gut feeling” was that the increase in patients suffering from cold-like symptoms was because of “people mixing again with no barriers again”.
A clear reference to the lifting of Covid restrictions, Dr Hart explained people are “spreading bugs they haven’t [had] for a while”.
“Our immune systems aren’t quite used to it,” he put simply, adding that doctors are “seeing the usual range of symptoms”.
These include: sore throats, runny noses, coughs, diarrhoea, which are best addressed – at first – by a pharmacist.
“If you are clinically vulnerable or have a chronic health condition you should take a bit more care,” cautioned Dr Hart.
“But, for most people, we need to remember common sense about managing ordinary day-to-day illnesses.”
Another widely circulating illness in the UK right now is the flu, with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reporting that we are experiencing a slightly later flu season than normal this year.
On March 24, the report stated that “influenza activity is low but increasing”.
The UKHSA also reported that cases of norovirus have also been on the rise across the country.
Professor Saheer Gharbia, Gastrointestinal Pathogens and Food Safety Directorate, UKHSA, commented on the increase.
“Norovirus, commonly known as the winter vomiting bug, has been at lower levels than normal throughout the pandemic,” she began.
“But as people have begun to mix more, the numbers of outbreaks have started to increase again.”
Professor Gharbia highlighted the symptoms of norovirus, which include a “sudden onset of nausea”.
Nausea is then accompanied by “projectile vomiting and diarrhoea”, and the condition may also lead to:
- A high temperature
- Abdominal pain
- Aching limbs.
“Stay at home if you are experiencing norovirus symptoms and do not return to work or send children to school or nursery until 48 hours after symptoms have cleared,” the UKHSA professor advised.
“As with COVID-19 and other infectious illnesses, hand washing is really important to help stop the spread of this bug.”
In addition to an increase in patients complaining of the super cold, more infections of the flu and norovirus, Covid cases are also spiking.
The official UK government reported that the number of patients admitted to hospital with Covid in the past seven days has increased by 11.6 percent.
This translates to an increase of 1,659 people admitted into hospital wards to treat the condition.
Doctor Hart recommends taking PCR tests if you are experiencing symptoms of Covid.
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