The future path of the pandemic is less predictable than when Covid-19 first hit because of the number of new variants, and the virus will continue to “taunt us” for years to come, the head of the UK health security agency has said.

Jenny Harries indicated that cases of both flu and Covid may have peaked for now while adding that the country could face further waves of both diseases this year.

The NHS has come under record pressure as it copes with the worst flu season for several years combined with fresh coronavirus outbreaks which have caused hospitalisation rates to rise sharply. However, both the number of confirmed flu outbreaks and flu-related admissions fell in the first week of the year, while Covid infections also declined, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics. Around one in 25 people in England currently has Covid.