Professor Arlene Wellman MBE, Group Chief Nurse for St George’s, Epsom and St Helier, said: “Hand sanitisers such as alcohol gel do not kill the bug – the simple act of good hand washing with soap and water can make all the difference between our beds being used to care for patients, or lying empty at a time when every bed is precious.”.
“It is likely that multiple factors contributed to the observed increase in laboratory reports, such as ongoing changes to the epidemiology following the COVID-19 pandemic or changes in testing and reporting to national surveillance.
London’s Royal Free Hospital has declared its highest operational level of alert as cases of norovirus rise across the capital.
According to the government report, a number of factors may have led to an increase in cases such as changes in testing as well as reporting strategies.
Norovirus also referred to as the vomiting bug, is a common yet contagious bug that can lead to vomiting and diarrhoea, but symptoms usually subside within a few days.
