Table 1.
SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks and outbreak cases in hospitals and long-term care facilities (LTCFs) in the four different pandemic waves. Data status: 21 September 2021. Y.o. = years old.
| Variables | First wave (CW 9/2020, March 2020 - CW 28/2020, July 2020) |
Second wave (CW 29/2020, July 2020 - CW 5/2021, February 2021) |
Third wave (CW 6/2021, February 2021 - CW 25/2021, June 2021) |
Fourth wave (CW 26/2021, June 2021 - CW 37/2021, September 2021) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of SARS-CoV-2 cases | 199,057 | 2,086,858 | 1,439,209 | 422,263 |
| Hospitals (SARS-CoV-2 hospital outbreaks) | ||||
| Number of outbreaks (outbreak cases) | 456 (5,004) | 2,391 (29,365) | 937 (5,639) | 108 (393) |
| Proportion of outbreak cases in total cases % | 2.5 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| Median outbreak size (range outbreak cases) | 5 (2 - 197) | 5 (2 - 351) | 4 (2 - 82) | 3 (2 - 15) |
| Median age (IQR)* | 52 (34 – 75) | 57 (36 – 79) | 59 (39 – 79) | 47 (31 – 68) |
| Outbreak cases in men (%) | 1,683 (33.7) | 10,074 (34.5) | 2,250 (40) | 158 (40.3) |
| Outbreak cases in women (%) | 3,318 (66.3) | 19,145 (65.5) | 3,376 (60) | 234 (59.7) |
| Deaths in outbreak cases (%)⁎⁎ | 515 (10.3) | 3,414 (11.6) | 672 (11.9) | 7 (4)⁎⁎ |
| Long-term care facilities (SARS-CoV-2 LTCF outbreaks) | ||||
| Number of outbreaks (cases) | 746 (14,810) | 4,466 (130,353) | 846 (9,221) | 196 (1,966) |
| Outbreak cases in elderly (≥65 y.o) (%) | 9,803 (66.2) | 91,322 (70.1) | 5,690 (61.7) | 1,389 (70.7) |
| Proportion of outbreak cases in total cases % | 7.4 | 6.2 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| Median outbreak size (range outbreak cases) | 13 (2 - 187) | 21 (2 - 237) | 7 (2 - 73) | 8 (1- 50)⁎⁎⁎ |
| Median age (IQR) | 85 (80 – 90) | 85 (80 – 90) | 85 (80 – 90) | 86 (81 – 91) |
| Outbreak cases in men (%) | 4,211 (28.4) | 36,316 (27.9) | 2,627 (28.5) | 493 (25.5) |
| Outbreak cases in women (%) | 10,593 (71.6) | 93,634 (72.1) | 6,580 (71.5) | 1,441 (74.5) |
| Outbreak cases with hospitalization (%)⁎⁎⁎⁎ | 2,685 (18.1) | 14,154 (10.9) | 1,025 (11.1) | 244 (12.4) |
| Deaths in elderly outbreak cases (≥65 y.o.) (%)⁎⁎ | 2,691 (27.5) | 19,305 (21.1) | 914 (16.1) | 99 (16.4)⁎⁎ |
⁎
Health care workers are still included. The median age should therefore be interpreted with caution.
⁎⁎
Deaths in outbreak cases is presented only until CW 34/2021 (August 2021).
⁎⁎⁎
The outbreak was notified in CW 37/2021 (September 2021) with minimum case of 1.
⁎⁎⁎⁎
The hospitalization rates with the complete information on status of hospitalization as denominator were observed with similar decreasing trends.