Severe flu alert as coronavirus weakens medical systems

In Hong Kong, social distancing and hygiene measures against the new coronavirus have proven effective against influenza, shortening the 2019-2020 flu season, according to data from the University of Hong Kong. Benjamin Cowling, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, and his colleagues studied the transmission of influenza in Hong Kong during the last 2019-2020 flu season. They found that social distancing measures and changes in the public’s behaviour such as wearing face masks, helped to reduce influenza transmission in the community by 44 per cent