Number of people on sick leave in Germany reaches three-year high
As pandemic measures wane, the number of people getting sick around Germany has reached a three-year high. Here’s who’s the most affected.
In its latest weekly report, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) estimated that around 9.5 million people in Germany had recently fallen ill - significantly higher than in previous years, even at the height of severe flu outbreaks.
This is also noticeable in everyday working life: in November, more people were on sick leave (Krankenstand) due to respiratory infections than at any time in the last three years, according to an internal evaluation from Germany health insurance company DAK.
Compared to November 2021, there are a third more general respiratory infections ("normal" colds with sniffles, coughs, sore throats) and twice as many cases of influenza (flu) and coronavirus, reported RKI.
The RKI recently estimated the number of visits to doctors for respiratory illnesses at two million - a number previously seen “only in peak weeks of strong flu waves,” it wrote.
READ ALSO: Working in Germany: The 10 rules to know if you get sick in Germany
In addition to increased transmission, however, the large figure could also be related to the fact that many people visit the doctor even if they only have mild symptoms, it said.
People in the eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania currently have to see a doctor most often (4,000 per 100,000 inhabitants), followed by Berlin and neighbouring Brandenburg (2,800) and Bavaria (2,600).
In contrast, the fewest visits to the doctor were registered in Saxony-Anhalt (1,900), followed by the northern states of Schleswig-Holstein Hamburg (2,100).
The high number of employees in Germany on sick leave has also led to several Kitas (daycares) closing or reducing their hours, bureaucratic services taking longer to process, as well as train disruptions or even cancellations due to a lack of personnel.
Emergency staff and services are also facing large disruptions due to more than one in 10 employees being on sick leave, reported Die Zeit on its Was Jetzt podcast on Tuesday.
Some health experts in Germany have attributed the high numbers of people getting sick to "catch-up effects". That means that those who have not had a real flu for a while - partially due to protective measures and social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic - could now be due again.
READ ALSO: Flu season makes a comeback in Germany
Intensive care beds in short supply
The German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Divi) reported on Monday that there were only 2,046 vacant intensive care beds in Germany.
On average, this means that 1.7 intensive care beds per ward are vacant.
By comparison, on December 12th, 2021, there were just under 2,500 vacant beds, and just under 4,000 a year earlier.
The figures do not take into account the currently high number of young children in Germany who are being treated for severe cases of the RSV virus. Intensive stations of children’s wards are also filling up in some German states.
In pre-pandemic years the respiratory virus usually manifests itself as a mild infection, but has seen a critical number of cases in young children who had not been exposed to it during the pandemic, say health experts.
READ ALSO: ‘Breaking point’: Why German pediatric wards are filling to capacity
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In its latest weekly report, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) estimated that around 9.5 million people in Germany had recently fallen ill - significantly higher than in previous years, even at the height of severe flu outbreaks.
This is also noticeable in everyday working life: in November, more people were on sick leave (Krankenstand) due to respiratory infections than at any time in the last three years, according to an internal evaluation from Germany health insurance company DAK.
Compared to November 2021, there are a third more general respiratory infections ("normal" colds with sniffles, coughs, sore throats) and twice as many cases of influenza (flu) and coronavirus, reported RKI.
The RKI recently estimated the number of visits to doctors for respiratory illnesses at two million - a number previously seen “only in peak weeks of strong flu waves,” it wrote.
READ ALSO: Working in Germany: The 10 rules to know if you get sick in Germany
In addition to increased transmission, however, the large figure could also be related to the fact that many people visit the doctor even if they only have mild symptoms, it said.
People in the eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania currently have to see a doctor most often (4,000 per 100,000 inhabitants), followed by Berlin and neighbouring Brandenburg (2,800) and Bavaria (2,600).
In contrast, the fewest visits to the doctor were registered in Saxony-Anhalt (1,900), followed by the northern states of Schleswig-Holstein Hamburg (2,100).
The high number of employees in Germany on sick leave has also led to several Kitas (daycares) closing or reducing their hours, bureaucratic services taking longer to process, as well as train disruptions or even cancellations due to a lack of personnel.
Emergency staff and services are also facing large disruptions due to more than one in 10 employees being on sick leave, reported Die Zeit on its Was Jetzt podcast on Tuesday.
Some health experts in Germany have attributed the high numbers of people getting sick to "catch-up effects". That means that those who have not had a real flu for a while - partially due to protective measures and social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic - could now be due again.
READ ALSO: Flu season makes a comeback in Germany
Intensive care beds in short supply
The German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Divi) reported on Monday that there were only 2,046 vacant intensive care beds in Germany.
On average, this means that 1.7 intensive care beds per ward are vacant.
By comparison, on December 12th, 2021, there were just under 2,500 vacant beds, and just under 4,000 a year earlier.
The figures do not take into account the currently high number of young children in Germany who are being treated for severe cases of the RSV virus. Intensive stations of children’s wards are also filling up in some German states.
In pre-pandemic years the respiratory virus usually manifests itself as a mild infection, but has seen a critical number of cases in young children who had not been exposed to it during the pandemic, say health experts.
READ ALSO: ‘Breaking point’: Why German pediatric wards are filling to capacity
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