Nobody knows exactly how many people are currently suffering from Corona in this country. But the fact is: International Corona numbers are currently increasing.
In Germany and England, the new, highly contagious Covid variants KP.1, KP.2 and KP.3 – commonly known as Flirt variants – are already widespread. “The numbers are also rising in Italy,” says Professor Dr. Christian Wiedermann, research coordinator at the South Tyrolean Institute for General Medicine and Public Health. “The summer wave has finally arrived.”
“Overall, many people are currently on sick leave”
And the number of unreported cases does not reflect how widespread the disease actually is. Corona is no longer regularly researched, and there is no longer a reporting requirement for infections. “Overall, many people are currently on sick leave,” says Professor Wiedermann. Experts also fear that there will be an autumn wave when the holidays end and temperatures cool down.
Tests no longer available to buy in some pharmacies
Corona numbers are also rising in South Tyrol – but here too, the number of current cases could be much higher than the number of unreported cases. “People no longer want to be tested,” says Dr. Domenico Bossio. Another problem, however, is that the tests are no longer available for purchase in some pharmacies.
“In this case, the health service would have to provide funding, but they don’t want to,” said Lana’s family doctor. More testing is needed at the moment to get a precise overview of the infections. “But most people aren’t prepared to do that,” said Dr. Bossio. According to Dr. Bossio, it is not true that the new variants cannot be detected with the tests, as was recently rumored.
Rapid spread of summer flu
The rapid spread of summer flu in South Tyrol is worrying. Psychiatric pneumonia in particular is on the rise. “The most common symptoms include diarrhea, nausea and fever,” concludes Dr. Bossio.
