National flu and COVID-19 surveillance report: 5 June 2025 (week 23)
Updated 5 June 2025
Applies to England
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2024-to-2025-season/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-report-5-june-2025-week-23
This report summarises the information from the surveillance systems which are used to monitor COVID-19 (caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)), influenza, and diseases caused by seasonal respiratory viruses in England. The report is based on data up to week 22 of 2025 (between 26 May and 1 June 2025).
Main points
The main messages of this report are:
- influenza activity decreased across indicators and was at baseline levels
- COVID-19 activity increased slightly across most indicators and was at baseline levels
- respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) showed mixed activity across indicators and was at baseline levels
Seasonal reports
Annual reports for the 2024 to 2025 season published on 22 May 2025:
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Influenza in the UK, annual epidemiological report: winter 2024 to 2025
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Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake for all GP patients: annual report 2024 to 2025
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Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake for school-aged children: annual report 2024 to 2025
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Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake for frontline healthcare workers: annual report 2024 to 2025
Summary of all respiratory virus activity
Influenza activity
Influenza activity decreased across indicators and was at baseline levels.
| Indicator | Trend | Level [note 1] | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laboratory surveillance | Decreasing | Baseline | Influenza positivity decreased with a weekly mean positivity rate of 1% compared with 1.3% in the previous week |
| GP swabbing positivity | Decreasing | Baseline | In week 21, among all tested samples, 1.2% were positive for influenza, compared with 3.4% in the previous week |
COVID-19 activity
COVID-19 activity increased slightly across most indicators and was at baseline levels.
In sequenced samples, the most prevalent lineage was LP.8.1.1.
| Indicator | Trend | Level [note 1] | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laboratory surveillance | Increasing slightly | Baseline | COVID-19 PCR (polymerase chain reaction) positivity in hospital settings increased slightly with a weekly mean positivity rate of 5.9% compared with 5.5% in the previous week |
| GP swabbing positivity | Increasing | Baseline | In week 21, among all tested samples, 5.2% were positive for SARS-CoV-2, compared with 4.5% in the previous week |
| Hospital admissions | Increasing slightly | Baseline | The overall weekly hospital admission rate for COVID-19 slightly increased to 1.49 per 100,000 compared with 1.40 per 100,000 in the previous week |
| ICU/HDU admissions | Stable | Baseline | The overall ICU or HDU rate for COVID-19 remained stable at 0.04 per 100,000 compared with 0.02 per 100,000 in the previous week |
Respiratory syncytial virus activity
RSV showed mixed activity across indicators and was at baseline levels.
| Indicator | Trend | Level [note 1] | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laboratory surveillance | Increasing slightly | Baseline | RSV positivity increased slightly to 0.33% compared with 0.30% in the previous week. |
| GP swabbing positivity | Decreasing | Baseline | In week 21, among all tested samples, 0.6% were positive for RSV compared with 1.1% in the previous week |
Other viruses
| Indicator | Trend | Level [note 1] | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adenovirus | Stable | Low | Adenovirus positivity (laboratory surveillance) remained stable at 3.2% compared with 3.3% in the previous week |
| Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) | Decreasing | Baseline | hMPV positivity (laboratory surveillance) decreased to 1.2% compared with 1.6% in the previous week |
| Parainfluenza | Decreasing slightly | Medium | Parainfluenza positivity (laboratory surveillance) decreased slightly to 4.8% compared with 5.4% in the previous week |
| Rhinovirus | Increasing slightly | Baseline | Rhinovirus positivity (laboratory surveillance) increased slightly to 12.3% compared with 11.5% in the previous week |
Note 1: these indicators use the moving epidemic method (MEM) and the mean standard deviation method (MSD) to define thresholds to determine their respective levels of activity. Further information on these methods can be found in Influenza surveillance in Europe: establishing epidemic thresholds by the Moving Epidemic Method and Setting thresholds to determine COVID-19 activity levels using the mean standard deviation (MSD) method, England, 2022 to 2024. The MEM approach is well-established for some influenza surveillance indicators, however, for other indicators both the MEM and MSD are experimental and may be subject to future revision. Influenza laboratory surveillance (from week 1) and GP swabbing positivity (from week 2) have transitioned from using MEM to using MSD. These approaches will be considered alongside expert opinion and triangulation of other data sources.
Laboratory surveillance
Laboratory-confirmed cases
The Second Generation Surveillance System (SGSS) captures test result information for notifiable infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and influenza, from laboratories in England. The unified sample dataset (USD), used to calculate the percentage tests positive for SARS-CoV-2 among all SARS-CoV-2 tests, stores all SARS-CoV-2 test results reported to SGSS, Respiratory DataMart, and UKHSA laboratories.
As of 3 June 2025, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) PCR positivity in hospital settings increased slightly in week 22, with a weekly average positivity rate of 5.9% compared with 5.5% in the previous week.
Influenza positivity in week 22 decreased with a weekly average positivity rate of 1% compared with 1.3% in the previous week.
Figure 1. Daily percentage of tests positive for SARS-CoV-2 among all reported SARS-CoV-2 tests (7-day rolling average), England 2022 to present [note 2]
[note 3]
Note 2: data from previous seasons is aligned by day.
Note 3: testing policy and practice may change over time which can impact positivity rates, therefore comparisons over time should be interpreted with caution. Notable changes in testing policy occurred during 2022 to 2023, which are outlined in the data sources report.
Figure 2. Daily percentage of tests positive for influenza among all reported influenza tests (7-day rolling average), England [note 2]
Note 2: data from previous seasons is aligned by day.
Respiratory DataMart System
Respiratory DataMart is a sentinel laboratory-based surveillance system where participating laboratories report positive and negative test results for a number of respiratory viruses from samples primarily taken in hospital. A small proportion of primary care samples are also included in this reporting.
In week 22, data is based on reporting from 9 out of the 14 sentinel laboratories.
In week 22, 3,335 respiratory specimens reported through the Respiratory DataMart System were tested for influenza. There were 54 positive samples for influenza: 40 influenza A (not subtyped), 7 influenza A (H3N2), 4 influenza A (H1N1)pdm09, and 3 influenza B. Overall, influenza positivity remained stable at 1.6% in week 22 compared with 1.6% in the previous week.
In week 22, 3,833 respiratory specimens reported through the Respiratory DataMart System were tested for SARS-CoV-2. There were 219 positive samples for SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 positivity increased slightly to 5.7% compared with 5% in the previous week, with the highest positivity in those aged 80 years and over at 7.4%.
RSV positivity increased slightly to 0.3%, with the highest positivity in those aged between 5 and 14 years at 1.3%.
Adenovirus positivity remained stable at 3.2%, with the highest positivity in those aged under 5 years at 9.5%.
Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) positivity decreased to 1.2%, with the highest positivity in those aged 80 years and over at 1.7%.
Parainfluenza positivity decreased slightly to 4.8%, with the highest positivity in those aged under 5 years at 7.1%.
Rhinovirus positivity increased slightly to 12.3%, with the highest positivity in those aged under 5 years at 35%.
DataMart data is provisional and subject to retrospective updates.
Figure 3a. Respiratory DataMart weekly percentage of tests positive for influenza, SARS-CoV-2, RSV and rhinovirus, England [note 4]
Note 4: shading represents 95% confidence intervals.
Figure 3b. Respiratory DataMart weekly percentage of tests positive for adenovirus, hMPV and parainfluenza, England [note 4]
Note 4: shading represents 95% confidence intervals.
SARS-CoV-2 lineages
UKHSA conducts genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 lineages.
This section provides an overview of circulating lineages in England, derived from data on sequenced PCR-positive SARS-CoV-2 samples in SGSS.
The prevalence of UKHSA-designated lineages among sequenced cases is presented in Figure 4.
To account for reporting delays, we report the proportion of lineages within COVID-19 cases that have had a sequenced positive sample between 28 April 2025 and 11 May 2025. Of those sequenced in this period 29.91% were classified as LP.8.1.1, 16.82% were classified as LP.8.1, 14.02% were classified as JN.1, 12.15% were classified as XFG, 11.21% were classified as XEC, 5.61% were classified as MC.21.1, 2.8% were classified as KP.3.1.1 and 2.8% were classified as XDV. Note that low sequencing numbers will impact the accuracy of the prevalence estimates.
There are currently 13 sequences of NB.1.8.1 in England, currently represented by its parent lineage XDV in Figure 4 due to low prevalence.
Please note that lineages will be grouped independently from their parent lineage once they reach sufficient prevalence, and may be re-grouped into their parent lineage if their prevalence subsequently falls. The data sources and methodology page contains more information on lineage groupings.
Figure 4. Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 lineages amongst available sequenced cases for England from 27 May 2024 to 18 May 2025
Primary care surveillance
Primary care surveillance is undertaken in collaboration with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Research and Surveillance Centre (RSC), using a national sentinel surveillance system of around 2,000 GP practices covering over 19 million registered patients of all ages across England. More information on the methodology can be found in the RCGP methodology report.
RCGP sentinel swabbing scheme in England
There were no results available for week 22.
Two hundred and two samples were taken in week 21 through the GP sentinel swabbing, and 21 tested positive (Figure 5). As of week 4 2024, contemporaneous enterovirus differentiation has stopped.
Starting from week 44 2024, reporting of rhinovirus and enterovirus has been grouped into rhinovirus/enterovirus. Starting from week 48, 2024, samples with more than 10 days between the sample collection date and the symptom onset date have been excluded.
Among 172 tested samples in week 21, 5.2% were positive for SARS-CoV-2, 1.2% for influenza, 0.6% for RSV, 3.5% for adenovirus, and 1.7% for hMPV.
Due to the number of samples which have not yet been categorised, data should be interpreted with caution when compared with previous weeks. The proportion of detections among all tested samples is not calculated when the number of samples with a result is fewer than 50.
Figure 5. Number of samples tested for respiratory viruses in England by week, GP sentinel swabbing scheme [note 5] [note 6] [note 7]
Note 5: unknown category corresponds to samples with no result yet.
Note 6: starting from week 40, 2024, testing for seasonal coronavirus has been suspended.
Note 7: reporting of rhinovirus and enterovirus follows a greater lag than for other respiratory pathogens.
Secondary care surveillance
COVID-19 hospital and ICU or HDU admissions
Surveillance of COVID-19 hospitalisations to all levels of care and admissions to intensive care units (ICU) or high dependency units (HDU) are both mandatory, with data required from all acute NHS trusts in England.
Please note that SARI Watch data is provisional and subject to retrospective updates. ICU or HDU admission rates may also be affected by lags from admission to hospital to an ICU or HDU ward. Rates are presented per 100,000 trust catchment population.
COVID-19 hospitalisations for all levels of care in week 22, 2025 based on 89 NHS trusts in England were as follows:
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the overall weekly hospital admission rate for COVID-19 slightly increased to 1.49 (compared with 1.40 per 100,000 in the previous week)
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hospital admission rates for COVID-19 were highest in the London region (increasing to 2.98 per 100,000 compared with 1.91 in the previous week)
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the highest hospital admission rate for COVID-19 was in those aged 85 years and over (slightly decreasing to 11.46 per 100,000 compared with 12.07 in the previous week)
COVID-19 ICU-HDU admissions in week 22, 2025 based on 75 NHS trusts in England were as follows:
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the overall ICU or HDU rate for COVID-19 remained low at 0.04 per 100,000 (compared with 0.02 per 100,000 in the previous week). Note that with low rates in critical care, small random fluctuations may occur
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ICU or HDU admission rates for COVID-19 were highest in the London region (increasing to 0.17 per 100,000 compared with 0.03 in the previous week)
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the highest ICU or HDU admission rate for COVID-19 was in those aged between 75 and 84 years (increasing to 0.21 per 100,000 compared with 0.05 in the previous week)
Figure 6. Weekly overall COVID-19 hospital admission rates per 100,000 trust catchment population reported through SARI Watch mandatory surveillance, England
Figure 7. Weekly overall COVID-19 ICU or HDU admission rates per 100,000 trust catchment population reported through SARI Watch mandatory surveillance, England
ECMO admissions
Surveillance of extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) admissions is based on data from severe respiratory failure (SRF) centres in the UK. Please refer to Sources of surveillance data for influenza, COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses for additional information.
Please note that SARI Watch data is provisional and subject to retrospective updates.
There was one new ECMO admission reported in week 22 2025 in adults:
- all admissions were due to an ARI (other viral, bacterial or fungal)
Please note that where there is an ARI admission due to ‘other viral’, this refers to a causative pathogen other than influenza, COVID-19 or RSV, the latter 3 of main interest in the report.
Please refer to the supplementary graphs and data file for counts of ECMO admissions in adults by week.
Vaccine coverage
COVID-19 vaccine uptake in England
Cumulative data up to the end of week 22, 2025 (Sunday 1 June 2025) was extracted from the Immunisation Information System (IIS), formerly the National Immunisation Management Service (NIMS). Data is extracted on the next working day following the end of reporting week (Monday 2 June 2025). Age is calculated as age on date of extraction.
Data is provisional and subject to change following further validation checks. Any changes to historic figures will be reflected in the most recent publication.
Spring 2025 campaign
The spring 2025 data reported below covers any dose administered from 1 April 2025 (ISO Week 14) provided there is at least 20 days from the previous dose. Eligible groups for the campaign are defined in Green Book chapter on COVID-19. By the end of week 22 2025 (week ending 1 June 2025) 55.3% of all people aged 75 years and over, and 23.3% of all people aged under 75 years with a weakened immune system, who are living and resident in England had been vaccinated with a spring 2025 dose since 1 April 2025 (Figure 8).
Figure 8. Cumulative weekly COVID-19 vaccine uptake by target group in England [note 8]
Note 8: the month is taken from the Monday of an international organization for standardization (ISO) week.
For COVID-19 data on the real-world effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines, and on COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy, please see the COVID-19 vaccine surveillance reports.
For COVID-19 management information on the number of COVID-19 vaccinations provided by the NHS in England, please see the COVID-19 vaccinations webpage.
For UK COVID-19 daily vaccination figures and definitions, please see the Vaccinations section of the UK COVID-19 dashboard.
Since the 19 December 2024, monthly data for frontline healthcare workers has been published. This covers vaccinations that were given between 1 September 2024 and 28 February 2025 and is available under the joint flu and COVID-19 vaccine uptake report.
International update
Global COVID-19 update
For further information on the global COVID-19 situation please see the World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 situation reports.
Global influenza update
For further information on the global influenza situation please see the World Health Organization (WHO) Influenza update.
Influenza in Europe
For further information on influenza in Europe please see the European Respiratory Virus Surveillance Summary weekly update.
Influenza in North and South America
For further information on influenza in the American continent please see the Pan American Health Organisation influenza surveillance report. For further information on influenza in the United States of America please see the Centre for Disease Control weekly influenza surveillance report. For further information on influenza in Canada please see the Public Health Agency weekly influenza report.
Influenza in Australia
For further information on influenza in Australia, please see the Australian Influenza Surveillance Report and Activity Updates.
Other respiratory viruses
Avian influenza and other zoonotic influenza
For further information, please see the latest WHO update on 17 April 2025.
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)
For further information please see the WHO Disease Outbreak News Reports and the WHO monthly updates.
Further information on the management and guidance of possible cases is available online. The latest highlights that risk of widespread transmission of MERS-CoV remains very low.
Data sources and methodology
For additional information regarding data sources please refer to the sources of surveillance data for influenza, COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses.
Background information
Additional surveillance sources
COVID-19 deaths
For further information on COVID-19 related deaths in England please see the COVID-19 dashboard for death.
All-cause mortality assessment (England)
For further information on all-cause mortality in England please see the:
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excess mortality within England post-pandemic method report, which uses Office for National Statistics (ONS) death registration data
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the all-cause mortality surveillance report, which uses the European mortality monitoring (EuroMOMO) model to identify weeks with higher than expected mortality
Syndromic surveillance
For further information on syndromic surveillance please see the syndromic surveillance weekly summaries.
Related links
Previous weekly influenza and COVID-19 surveillance reports
Previous weekly influenza reports
Previous national COVID-19 reports
Biannual COVID-19 epidemiology reports
COVID-19 vaccine surveillance reports
Previous COVID-19 vaccine surveillance reports
Public Health England (PHE) monitoring of the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination
Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern: technical briefings
Further information and contact details
Feedback and contact information
To provide feedback and for all queries relating to this document, please contact respdsr.enquiries@ukhsa.gov.uk
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