Lincolnshire health bosses say there have been no hospital admissions with flu cases during this season, which can be put down to the national lockdown, social distancing and face coverings being widely worn.

However, this doesn't mean the virus has completely disappeared, it is just not spreading as fast.

This comes as Public Health England has not recorded a single case of flu so far this year through routine surveillance tests, despite it being the height of the usual flu season.

Andy Fox, Assistant Director of Public Health at Lincolnshire County Council said: "We've seen no hospital admissions due to a confirmed case of influenza and a very low rate of GP consultations, close to zero, for influenza.

"This is good news and demonstrates how effective lockdown measures, as well as social distancing and wearing of face coverings, can be in preventing transmission of respiratory viruses."

He added: "It's a reminder that, although influenza is expected to be circulating, the hands, face, space guidance can prevent outbreaks and infections – whether it's COVID-19 or other viruses, such as influenza."

However, Scientists fear that falling immunity levels to influenza - normally sustained by seasonal circulation of the virus - could now pave the way for one of the worst flu outbreaks for years next winter.

In most years in the UK, seasonal flu kills between 10,000 and 30,000 people, depending on the stain and effectiveness of the annual vaccine.

Three years ago, an excess of more than 50,000 winter deaths was blamed on a flu epidemic and a lack of take-up of flu vaccine.

The Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918-19 killed more than 200,000 in the UK and over 50 million worldwide.