Diseases
RKI: Flu wave continues – corona numbers continue to decline
Not without my tissue: Almost everyone knows someone who is coughing or sniffling. photo
© Maurizio Gambarini/dpa
The number of flu cases in Germany continues to rise. Many affected people have to go to the doctor or hospital.
An increasing number of people in Germany are still falling ill with the flu. All age groups are affected, as stated in a report by Robert Koch Institute (RKI), which was published that night and refers to the week up to February 4th.
The illnesses led to “a high number of doctor visits and hospitalizations.” For the past week, almost 31,600 confirmed laboratory cases have been transmitted to the RKI. 16 percent of those affected went to hospital. A total of around 102,000 flu cases have been reported to the experts since October. It can be assumed that the number of unreported cases is high.
The RSV wave (respiratory syncytial virus) also continues to determine the infection rate in Germany. “Small children are particularly affected by hospital admission with RSV infection,” wrote the RKI.
In older people, influenza infections and Covid-19 infections are much less common and lead to serious illnesses. Overall, however, the reporting numbers for Corona continue to decline and are significantly below the reported flu cases. The RKI estimates the number of acute respiratory illnesses to be around 6.1 million last week, regardless of a doctor’s visit.