Londoners have been urged by the capital’s NHS chief to “stay at home” and not go on the Tube, trains or buses if they have flu-like symptoms.

Dr Chris Streather, Medical Director for NHS London, issued the “stay at home” plea, echoing health warnings during the Covid pandemic, as the city faces its biggest “superflu” wave ever.

“If you are coughing and symptomatic stay at home,” he told the Standard in an interview.

He added that a mask would partially stop the spread of the virus but does not give “complete protection”.

He stressed: “If you are symptomatic you can stay at home.

“It’s pretty easy to work from home if you are not feeling too ill but have got symptoms.

“People with symptoms should stay away from other vulnerable people. That means not travelling on public transport.”

He said if using public transport was “absolutely essential that’s not an unreasonable thing to do”.

But he emphasised that it was “better” to protect other people and stop the virus spreading if people with flu-like symptoms could avoid the Tube, trains and buses.

Earlier, Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers which represents hospitals, urged people feeling under the weather to wear a mask on public transport, though Dr Streather went further in encouraging them to stay at home.

Mr Elkeles told of a “tidal wave” of flu hitting the city which was plunging the health service into “unchartered, unprecedented territory”.

He stressedthe flu this year was a “very nasty variant” and that it was ripping through the capital and other parts of Britain in the warm weather.

Schools had not yet closed for the Christmas period so the virus was spreading among children who were then taking it home to their families.

London is being hit by an unprecedented flu wave (British Heart Foundation)

Mr Elkeles, the former head of the London Ambulance Service, strongly encouraged people who have a cough or sneezing to put on a face covering in public places including on public transport.

He urged eligible people to have the flu vaccine and for those who do not qualify to get it free he stressed that spending £15 to £20 to have it at a pharmacy would be the “best investment” they could make.

“We really need people to sit up and listen,” he told Times Radio.

“If you haven’t already had your flu vaccine and you are eligble, please go and take it.

“And if you are not eligible and you have not had the flu already, it’s probably the best £15 to £20 investment that you could make by going to your local pharmacy and saying please can I have the flu jab.

“We need to get back into the habit that if you are coughing and sneezing, but not unwell enough to not go to work, then you must wear a mask when you are in public spaces, including on public transport to stop the chances of you giving your virus to somebody else.

“We were all very good about infection control during Covid and we really, really need to get back to that now.”

London Ambulance Service confirmed it has been taking around 7,000 999 calls every day for about a week.

Paramedics are being reminded to wear protective equipment, such as masks or visors, when attending callouts for patients with a suspected respiratory virus.

Staff have also been advised they may be asked to wear masks at hospitals in clinical areas, though infection guidance varies between NHS Trusts.

A London commuter wearing a mask on the Underground (PA)

Health chiefs in London raised the alarm on Monday about the capital being hit with the biggest flu wave ever.

They stressed that there were already a record number of cases in the city and “no peak yet in sight”.

They appealed to Londoners to get vaccinated after a tripling of flu hospitalisations in the city.

Some hospitals are telling patients to wear masks.

Whittington Health NHS Trust in London told the public: “You must wear a mask when visiting our Emergency Department, some of our wards, and other clinical areas where the risk is high.”

“If you have flu symptoms, please avoid visiting the hospital,” an update added.

A woman getting the flu jab (PA Archive)

Mr Elkeles explained further: “There is tidal wave of flu...this is a very big tidal wave, it’s a very nasty variant of the flu that we have this year and it’s much earlier in the winter season that normal.

“Children are still at school.

“It’s warm and wet so it’s prefect flu spreading conditions.

“So we are kind of in quite unchartered, unprecedented territory for this time of year.”

Ambulance crews in London are dealing with hundreds more cases a week.

The flu mutation sending cases spiralling in London is more contagious than variants of past years, according to health sources.

A ‘drifted’ influenza A(H3N2) strain, also now known as ‘subclade K’ or ‘superflu’, is dominating cases.

The NHS also faces being hit by the double blow of the huge wave of flu and resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors, walking out on their latest strike in the run-up to Christmas.

All adults aged 65 and over are eligible for the latest Covid-19 booster vaccination as well as this year’s flu jab (Chris Radburn/PA) (PA Wire)

The Government urged doctors to call off their industrial action.

“As we enter the weeks in the run-up to Christmas, it’s always a very difficult job for the NHS,” said Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander who was on the morning media round for the Government on Tuesday.

“We need people to feel confident when they have to go to hospital in the weeks and months ahead that the staff are going to be there.

“I do think that the British people want to see doctors at work.”

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