More than 250,000 people in Austria have reported sick with flu-like infections, influenza or Covid-19 in the past week. The Austrian Health Insurance Fund alone announced on Monday that 253,677 insured persons had to stay in bed.
63,416 reports of incapacity for work related to flu-like infections, 355 to influenza (“real flu”) and 8,505 to Covid. “The number of sick leave has increased again compared to the previous week. We notice this with all three diseases,” says ÖGK chief physician Andreas Krauter.
ÖGK recommends masks as safe protection
The week before, 227,444 sick days were reported in this context, which is 26,233 fewer. “To prevent infections and further spread, masks are a safe protection. Washing hands is also important because you unintentionally touch your face and therefore run a greater risk of transmitting pathogens. People with risk factors in particular should take this into account. We recommend that you, but also everyone, get vaccinated against Covid-19 and flu. The flu vaccination is free for everyone and the prescription costs are also waived,” Krauter reports.
Corona events collected via wastewater monitoring
It was emphasized that the figures only concern ÖGK-insured employees and those receiving unemployment benefits. Since July 2023, Covid-19 is no longer considered a reportable disease, which means that fewer tests are being carried out.
The actual infection process with SARS-CoV-2 is visible via wastewater monitoring commissioned by the Ministry of Health. The additional monitoring of the city of Vienna showed that there was a gap last week due to the flooding. “Due to the precipitation, there are unfortunately no usable results for week 37,” it says.
Source: Krone
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