Boris Johnson signals early end to Covid self-isolation laws

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Dr Mark Woolhouse, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, said the likely reason for the decrease in common flu cases is behavioural changes brought in by COVID-19.

On Wednesday the Prime Minister announced plans to lift all restrictions one month early.

This will make England one of the first Western countries to leave all restrictions behind.

Despite the announcement, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said infection rates are believed to be increasing across the country.

However, hospital rates and those in intensive care are decreasing.

Dr Woolhouse said the increase in cases seen this week are “mostly in school children” which they have been “for some time”.

He told Sky News: “The main wave in the adult population seems to have passed over the Christmas period.”

Behavioural changes such as increased hand washing, the use of face masks and being more hygiene cautious may have helped the UK not just fight off coronavirus but also other illnesses like influenza, the expert said.

Dr Woolhouse said: “If you recall we haven’t actually had a major influenza outbreak in the last two years and there are very clear and obvious reasons for that.

“If our behaviour is sufficient to suppress Covid, it is easily sufficient to suppress influenza.

“So there may be quite a difference in the epidemiology of respiratory diseases generally in the UK and that, of course, would have big implications on NHS waiting times.”

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The epidemiologist said the public had been much more responsible and cautious “than scientists gave them credit for”.

He said: “We can’t be sure when the next variant will come but I’m pretty sure it will come.

“We must have systems in place where we can respond rapidly if a new variant does arrive”.

Dr Woolhouse said the coronavirus pandemic is likely to leave lasting impacts, which he expects could include the continued actions we have taken in combating the spread of Covid.

He suggested if people continue to carry out these measures post restrictions being lifted, it could help to combat the spread of other illnesses such as influenza.

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