Seasonal flu numbers drop in SA thanks to Covid-19 – Wall Street Journal

Countries in the southern hemisphere are reporting lower levels of seasonal flu for the first time in years, thanks to measures to contain Covid-19.
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According to the Department of Health, seasonal influenza (or flu) kills between 6,000 and 11,000 South Africans every year. About half of those deaths are among the elderly, and about 30% are among those infected with HIV. This annual bout of infections would have had a debilitating effect on hospitals that are already buckling under the weight of a deadly virus. However, several countries are reporting much lower numbers of flu this year, and it's all thanks to Covid-19. – Claire Badenhorst

Covid-19 measures have all but wiped out the flu in the Southern Hemisphere

By David Luhnow and Alice Uribe

For the past two months, as winter descended on Chile, infectious-disease specialist Claudia Cortés worked tirelessly to keep a wave of critically ill Covid-19 patients alive in the hospital where she works. At the same time, she worried about what would happen when the usual wave of influenza patients arrived.

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