Wisconsin is seeing virtually no flu cases this season. As of Wednesday, UW Health reported treating only one case of influenza all season. Compare that to a year ago, when UW Health had seen more than 1,000 by this time.
“The decline in flu numbers is encouraging because I think it would have been worse if we had high numbers 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 might consider wearing masks in public during flu season in the future, regardless of the COVID-19 situation.”
The precautions people are using to stay safe from COVID-19: such as wearing masks, social distancing, washing hands, and staying home, are credited for the dramatic decrease in flu cases.