Ten new influenza cases and 2,224 COVID-19 cases were added this week

In week 46, a grand total of 3,875 people fell ill with acute respiratory infections. Overall, 43% of all of the new cases involved children. Ten new influenza A cases were confirmed through laboratory tests, including nine influenza A cases and one influenza B case. A total of 2,224 new COVID-19 cases were added, of which 491 were confirmed through laboratory testing.

Based on information which had been logged during a targeted survey of acute upper respiratory tract infections (with this survey being known as ‘Sentinel Monitoring’), it can be seen that the intensity of the spread of viruses is stable. The spread of the influenza virus is limited, with just a few influenza cases registered. People mainly fall ill due to the rhinovirus: new rhinovirus cases formed 19% of all positive Sentinel test results. The percentage of RS viruses also began to grow last week, which indicates the beginning of a more extensive spread of the influenza virus in the near future. This increase in the spread of the influenza virus should be observed within the next two or three weeks.

Compared to the figures for last week, it can be seen that the spread of COVID-19 increased most amongst schoolchildren and elderly people, by 25% and 61% respectively. Children up to the age of five still form the majority of patients. According to the Health and Welfare Information Systems Centre, since the beginning of the season twelve patients have been hospitalised due to influenza, including three children from the under-four age group, plus five people from the 5-64 age group, and four patients in the 65+ age group.

As of Wednesday morning, a total of 142 people are in hospital due to COVID-19, of which fifty-nine required treatment due to symptomatic COVID-19. This week also saw nine deaths being added to the overall total, involving individuals who were aged between 66-91. All of those individuals had serious underlying illnesses.

The spread of COVID-19 remains stable, but the increasing trend among children continues. The number of outbreaks which have been registered in social welfare institutions and the number of new cases which have been identified in those institutions have decreased in the last few weeks.

Based on the sequencing data, the Omicron variant share amongst newly registered cases is at 100%. Taking into consideration the characteristics of the variants of the virus which are currently spreading around Europe and elsewhere in the world, there is no reason to forecast some of the other variants possibly becoming prevalent in the near future.

The percentage of influenza viruses remains stable, as it does for SARS-CoV-2 viruses, forming about 10% of all confirmed positive test results. Based on data from the European Influenza Surveillance Network, the intensity of the spread of influenza remains low in all countries within the European region.

Further statistical data on the spread of influenza can be found here.

The epidemiological COVID-19 overview can be found here (PDF).