Cases of flu are continuing to soar as the latest data showed the number of hospital patients in England with the illness was five times higher than at the beginning of December. Data published on Thursday by NHS England showed there were 5,

The number of flu patients in hospital has risen across England for the sixth week in a row, figures released on Thursday morning show. Multiple hospitals declared or continued critical incidents this week, the highest NHS alert level, as the surge in respiratory cases overwhelmed accident and emergency departments.

The number of people with flu in hospital in England has quadrupled over the past month and is rising "at a very concerning rate", NHS chiefs have warned. Latest data shows there were 5,000 patients with the virus being treated in hospital at the end of last week - almost 3.5 times higher than the same week in 2023, although not as high as in 2022.