Flu and Covid-19 hospital admissions in England fell last week, though levels remain high, figures show.
Health experts said the numbers should be treated with caution as they are likely to have been affected by fewer hospitals reporting data over the festive period, along with reduced social contact among the public due to schools and workplaces being closed.
Flu admissions stood at 8.3 per 100,000 people in the week to January 1, down from 14.8 in the week to December 25, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Despite the drop, the rate is still running higher than at any point in the previous four winters.
Admissions continue to be highest among the oldest age groups, at 61.8 per 100,000 for people 85 and over and 31.8 for 75-84 year-olds.
Covid-19 admissions also showed a decrease, down from 11.8 per 100,000 to 10.7.
Rates for coronavirus admissions were again highest among the elderly, at 130.7 for over-85s and 51.8 for 75-84 year-olds.
There can often be a slight reduction in recorded levels of hospital activity over the festive period, which this winter saw the weekend of December 24/25 followed by bank holidays on both December 26 and 27.
The latest data might have been affected by some hospitals not returning a full set of figures, together with “reporting delays and bank holidays over Christmas and New Year”, the UKHSA said.
But there may also have been a temporary reduction in the transmission of viruses due to “reductions in social contact rates over the holiday”, with fewer people travelling and many communal buildings closed.
Meanwhile, the number of people in hospital in England who have tested positive for coronavirus looks to have levelled off at just over 9,000.
The figure had been on an upwards path since the start of December, though in recent days this trend has come to a halt, with 9,332 patients recorded as having Covid-19 on January 4, down 1 per cent on the previous week.
Hospital numbers topped 17,000 during the wave of infections in winter 2021/22.
