COVID-19 and flu cases expected to increase in fall

In Ukraine, the COVID-19 situation is evolving into a seasonal pattern. Doctors predict a new surge in incidence in the fall, specifically in October and November. Infectious disease doctor Larisa Moroz noted this during a broadcast on the Kyiv TV channel.

According to her, taking into account last year’s trends, cases typically increase in October and early November. After that, a new wave of influenza generally occurs.

The Ministry of Health also notes the emergence of new subspecies of the Omicron strain, which have already been recorded in the country. These are the variants NB.1.8.1 (known as “Nimbus”) and XFG (“Stratus”). As of August 25, three cases of infection with “Nimbus” and 125 with “Stratus” have been confirmed in Ukraine.

The Ministry of Health reported that there is no data yet that these subspecies cause a more severe course of the disease than previous variants of the virus.

According to statistics, in August of this year, 22,500 cases of COVID-19 were recorded, which is almost half the number of cases recorded in the same period in 2024, when approximately 47,000 infected people were registered.

It is worth noting that the COVID-19 coronavirus first appeared in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, quickly spreading worldwide. Active research into its nature began in early 2020.

Despite the decrease in the number of cases, experts urge continued caution, especially for people with chronic diseases, weakened immunity, and the elderly.

In addition, according to routine surveillance data collected from medical institutions in all regions, except Luhansk, 14,414 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed between September 1 and 7, 2025. This represents a 32.3% increase from the previous week, when 10,622 cases were reported. Also, 21 people who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 died during the week.