Covid: Keeping you updated 19

It was interesting to see the recent figures published by the World Health Organisation suggesting that, globally, influenza activity was reported at lower levels than expected for this time of the year.¹ This is almost certainly a consequence of the measures that have been taken to limit the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, such as social distancing, lock down and PPE. It is currently the winter season in Australia, and normally a time where their influenza activity is monitored as an indicator of the likely seasonal impact to be felt in the UK later in the year.

This year, influenza levels in many southern hemisphere countries are abnormally low (see all the white shading in figure 1) which have led some news outlets to suggest that ‘Covid-19 measures have all but wiped out the flu in the Southern hemisphere’ (Wall Street Journal, 22.07.2020). If this pattern is followed at the end of the year in the Northern hemisphere, as has been the case previously,² then there may be a much-welcomed freeing up of health resources to address a possible seasonal increase in cases of Covid-19.