Hamilton’s respiratory virus season is better than last year’s, but doctor says challenges remain – CBC

This year’s virus season feels more like a pre-pandemic respiratory season, experts say

Dec 03, 2023

After months of relatively low transmission, Hamilton public health is reporting respiratory viruses are spreading more and more. This is to be expected given the time of year, doctors tell CBC Hamilton, and there are things people can do to help hospitals from being overwhelmed.

“[Public health metrics] have been signalling that there’s certainly COVID-19 transmitting out there in the community, and an increase from what we have seen even through these earlier fall months,” Dr. Brendan Lew, Hamilton’s associate medical officer of health said.

As of Wednesday, public health reported it’s tracking increased presence of COVID-19 in wastewater, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is spreading more too. This mirrors provincial trends, with an increasing number of patients being admitted to Ontario hospitals with respiratory virus symptoms, according to a provincial monitoring tool.

Hamilton’s respiratory virus season is better than last year’s, but doctor says challenges remain – CBC

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