Compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019, 24 percent more people are currently reported sick in Lower Austria. In addition to the season, the increased fear of infecting others also plays a role, it is said.
While a total of 43,326 Lower Austrians were reported sick in the first week of October 2019, the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) recorded an increase of 24 percent this year to 53,801 sick leave in the same calendar week. It is particularly striking that, in addition to the newly added Covid-19 sick leave, flu infections in particular lead to sick leave.
For Martina Hasenhündl, Vice President of the Medical Association of Lower Austria, the increase in sick leave can be attributed to people’s increased caution against disease transmission. “Many people who used to go to work with a cold and a little sore throat are not doing so at the moment because they are afraid of infecting colleagues in the office,” estimates Hasenhündl.
Flu wave is still coming
The rest is done by the season, according to the doctor. “Wet, cold, damp” is a perfect condition for the spread of influenza infections. Hasenhündl expects that sick leave has not yet peaked, because: “We’re still waiting for the real flu.” According to the ÖGK, a total of 17 people in Lower Austria were reported unfit for work in calendar week 40 due to flu, in 2019 it was in the same week 37.
The number of Covid 19 infections has also recently increased slightly. In the first week of October, 7,620 workers were absent due to a Covid-19 infection. 441 people with Covid-19 are currently being treated in the Lower Austrian hospitals, 24 of them in an intensive care unit. To protect against all infections, Hasenhündl recommends disinfecting your hands regularly, keeping your distance and wearing a mask: “This also protects against other viruses, not just corona.”