“They should not be let in.”
This is the advice given by a B.C. infectious disease expert for this holiday season if a dinner guest shows up coughing on the doorstep.
Brian Conway, medical director of the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre, reminded people on CBC’s The Early Edition Monday that while we may be coming out of the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic, the same precautions must be taken this winter when someone presents with cold or flu symptoms.
A range of viral and bacterial infections are all back in circulation, including COVID-19.
“In Canada, there are 4,000 people in hospital, two or three deaths per hour,” Conway said about the current COVID situation.
The Early Edition6:15Respiratory illness season meets the holidays: what are the risks?
We hear from an infectious diseases specialist about what exactly is circulating right now, and how best to protect ourselves.
Conway is not the only medical expert in the province sounding the alarm this respiratory season.
Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix also held a joint press event Monday reminding people to get vaccinated against COVID and influenza, especially before indoor holiday gatherings are in full-swing.
According to Henry and Dix, while COVID-19 numbers have dropped in B.C., the virus is still circulating and other respiratory illnesses are seeing a rise in cases.
“The good news is that COVID-19 activity continues to decrease and stay relatively low since the peak that we had in early October this year, while influenza A, on the other hand, and it’s mostly the H1N1 strain, and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) activity, are starting to increase,” said Henry.
Respiratory illness on the rise
Henry said adult visits to emergency rooms and primary care providers for respiratory illnesses have increased recently, as have pediatric emergency department visits. She said H1N1 appears to be the dominating strain of influenza circulating and that it can cause severe illness in younger people.
Anyone over six months can get an influenza vaccine, she said.
“It’s not too late to get that extra protection,” she said.
WATCH | Canadian medical professionals bracing for busy cold and flu season:
Canadian doctors are bracing for what could be another busy cold and flu season as cases of RSV and influenza are on the rise while COVID-19 continues to circulate.
Dix said there is an increasing demand for hospital services a month before the anticipated peak of flu season in the first week of January, and the province has increased its base bed capacity from 9,200 to 9,929, all of which are now being used.
The health minister said more acute and surge beds have also been allocated to address the “significant” numbers of people currently seeking hospital care. He said there are 170 more patients in hospital now than there were at this time last year.
“Throughout the system, we are better prepared than we had been at any time to deal with these large numbers of patients,” said Dix.
Stay home
Conway said he is worried about virus fatigue — meaning people getting tired of following medical advice when they have symptoms. He said only 15 per cent of Canadians have received the latest vaccine for the coronavirus that causes COVID.
“Stay home if you’re sick,” said Conway. “They’re all back. The ‘tridemic’ — influenza, RSV, COVID — they’re back.”
Conway also said Mycoplasma pneumoniae, a bacterium that causes lung infections including pneumonia, has been showing up more than past years.
Parts of the U.S. and China, along with several European countries, are reporting higher levels of pneumonia infections, while South Korean health officials announced hospitalizations for the illness have doubled in the last month, mostly among children.
While there is no formal laboratory-based monitoring happening here in Canada, public health laboratories will be on the lookout for any unusual mycoplasma pneumonia activity, the Public Health Agency of Canada told CBC News.
Henry said the situation is being monitored in B.C.
“We have seen some sporadic cases,” said Henry. “But not an increase in adults or children above what we would normally see in a pre-pandemic year.”
In addition to staying home, Conway wants people to seek medical advice if they feel sick because if they have a bacterial infection, a prescribed antibiotic could be necessary. Henry also noted that anyone struggling to breathe should seek medical help immediately.
And above all else, said Henry, get your shots.
“Do this for yourself, for your friends, your family, your teammates and for our community,” she said. “We need to keep our guard up”
Provincial health officials say there are currently 182 people in hospital with COVID-19 in British Columbia and, of those, 17 are in critical care.
Approximately 1.4 million doses of the influenza vaccine and 1.2 million COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered provincewide this respiratory season, according to the B.C. government.