MADISON, Wis. – Health officials prepared for the possibility of a “double pandemic” with COVID-19 and flu in the mix this winter. But new data from UW Health shows that there have been virtually no cases of local flu this year.
On Wednesday, February 10, data from UW Health show that there was only one case of influenza. A press release indicates that these figures are in contrast to a year ago, when UW Health had seen more than 1,000 positive flu tests at this time.
“The decline in flu numbers is encouraging because I think it would have been worse if we had a large number of COVID-19 cases coinciding with influenza cases,” said Dr. Nasia Safdar, medical director of infection control at UW Health . “In light of this sharp drop in flu cases, the public may consider wearing masks in public during the flu season in the future, regardless of the situation with COVID-19.”
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UW Health flu numbers
- Positive influenza tests 2018-2019 (on 10/2/19): 149
- Positive influenza tests 2019-2020 (on 2/10/20): 1,183
- Positive influenza tests in 2020-2021 (from 2/10/21): 1
Health authorities credit the care people are taking to protect themselves from COVID-19: wearing a mask, social detachment, hand hygiene and staying at home when they are sick.
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