Ministers argue that it makes sense to urge adults who need to go outside but have a respiratory infection to wear a mask. The UK Health Security Agency UKHSA reaffirmed the advice, which has been in effect for months in England, as businesses and schools reopened after the Christmas holiday.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recommendations was announced to have the full approval of Transport Secretary Mark Harper. It happens while demand on the NHS is growing, which is being exacerbated by widespread flu and COVID cases.
The government has provided greater resources to the NHS and social services, according to Mr. Harper, who acknowledged that staff members are under “tremendous pressure.”
This includes a £500 million winter fund designed to assist hospitals in releasing patients who are physically able to do so but are unable to do so due to a shortage of community resources.
According to Mr. Harper, “I hope that these resources will help in the coming months to relieve some of the pressure on our hard-working health and care workers.”
He claimed that while asking sick adults to wear masks if necessary to go outside was “logical,” it was usually advisable to stay at home. In addition, the UKHSA has urged parents to keep their kids home from school if they have a fever.
Several hospitals have declared major events recently, indicating they can no longer operate normally due to extreme demand.
In recent weeks, there has been a substantial increase in the number of individuals being treated in hospitals for COVID and the flu; now, nearly one in eight beds in England are being used by these patients.
The NHS, according to senior clinicians, is “on a knife edge,” with certain accident and emergency facilities in “complete crisis.”
The difficulty the NHS will experience this winter, according to Downing Street, was disclosed to the public “up front.”
The official spokesman for the prime minister admitted that the current strain on the health system was a “unprecedented challenge.”
“I think we are satisfied that we are providing the NHS with the funds it needs to deal with these difficulties, just as we did throughout the epidemic,” he said.
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