Insurer presents data
Where Corona is particularly rampant
December 8, 2023, 8:41 a.m
A wave of illness is rolling through Germany. Infections with the coronavirus in particular are increasing. This is also shown by the corona-related sick notes, as the data from the Barmer health insurance company shows. However, there are regional differences in absenteeism.
There are clear regional differences in corona-related sick notes. According to data from the Barmer health insurance company, which is available to the AFP, in the 46th calendar week between November 13th and 19th, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt were at the top with 118 and 117 sick people per 10,000 Barmer insured people.
The lowest rates of corona-related absences occurred in the 46th week in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, with 57 and 71 people affected per 10,000 insured people entitled to sick pay. When it comes to absences due to respiratory diseases, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia topped the list in mid-November with 541 and 499 sick people per 10,000 Barmer insured people, respectively. Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg recorded the lowest rates with 320 and 352 sick people per 10,000 eligible people, respectively.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has already spoken of a wave of infections. This should correspond to an incidence of 1,700 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days, he said. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is also observing a “very high activity of respiratory infections,” as President Lars Schaade announced. The cause is usually Covid-19 or other pathogens such as rhinoviruses. However, there is still no indication of an incipient flu wave, but the number of cases is expected to increase. Vaccination for risk groups is therefore still important.
The RKI also recently announced that the wave of RSV diseases has begun in Germany. The start will be dated retroactively to the week from November 20th, like the RKI in his current weekly report on acute respiratory diseases announced. RSV is the abbreviation for respiratory syncytial virus.