Respiratory diseases heating up in Germany

BERLIN, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The number of sick days taken by employees in Germany is on a steady increase primarily for respiratory diseases, such as COVID-19, influenza or pneumonia, Barmer, one of the country's largest health insurers, said on Tuesday.

At the beginning of October, around 410 out of 10,000 German employees were on sick leave due to such diseases, the Barmer Institute for Health System Research (bifg) said.