There were over 200 accesses to Flu Points and Ligurian district clinics over the Christmas weekend. This is certified by the data of the ASL which, with the Liguria Region, Alisa and together with general practitioners, have put in place an extraordinary “flu plan” for the holidays.
The point of the regional councilor for health Angelo Gratarola
«The combination of flu points and outpatient clinics with general practitioners open on holidays has allowed, up to now, the reduction of flows to the emergency room, a drop already recorded before Christmas – declared the health councilor of the Liguria Region Angelo Gratarola with the point released by the Liguria Region in the late afternoon of yesterday, Monday 26 December -, therefore the system put in place by the Region at first analysis seems to have made an important contribution. It is clear that we need to continue on this path in a particularly delicate period for infections linked to viruses not only seasonal, such as the flu, but also in relation to Covid, always reminding patients of the importance of going to the emergency room only for pathologies serious. Those affected by pathologies of medium or low complexity find in the clinics an important response to their health needs, moreover at no cost».
The comment of the director of 118 Liguria Paolo Frisoni
An indirect confirmation of the effectiveness of the Flu Points also comes from those who coordinate the activity of the 118 Liguria Emergency at the regional level.
«The proposal of the flu points seems to have been appreciated by the citizens – underlined the director of 118 Liguria Paul Frisoni -. This is highlighted by the comparison of the data referring to average accesses with ambulances in the emergency rooms of the area: in these days we have barely reached 190 accesses per day, while, on average, we reached 220/230 accesses per day in this period. Tomorrow (today, ed), December 27, should be rather indicative of the period: citizens go back to work, we return to routine and this could raise the numbers, which could be influenced by the flu that is circulating and which could having been helped by the conviviality of the holidays”.
The words of Alisa’s general manager Filippo Ansaldi
On the contagion front, the flu has definitely taken over Covid-19 for a few weeks, but the curve seems to have reached its peak.
“The epidemiological picture is characterized by a plateau phase with regard to flu syndromes – underlined the general manager of Alisa Philip Ansaldi -. Currently 40% of these are characterized by the flu virus, 10% by Covid, the remainder are other viruses or respiratory bacteria. As far as Covid is concerned, the curve is deflecting: it means that we are seeing a circulation that is decreasing. We can see it both from the incidence data and from that referring to the daily average of new positives admitted to our hospitals. Basically we started from about 70 new positives a day in the hospital at the beginning of December, we dropped below 50 this week. It is clear that the strong pressure characterized above all by the flu virus can put medium intensity wards in difficulty these days. A recommendation to reiterate, after what was said before Christmas by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, still applies for the next few days: it is right to regain possession of the sociality linked to the holiday period, but in the presence of respiratory symptoms it is advisable to avoid those moments of sociality, especially out of respect for elderly or frail people. To give a simple example: it is good that the child with fever and cough does not go to eat with his grandparents ».