A wave of three viruses continues to seriously impact the country and there is concern that the aftermath of holiday gatherings will make things even worse. As previously reported, an unusually early surge of RSV has sickened many children and caused long wait times in pediatric hospitals.
COVID-19 cases are once again starting to creep back up again, San Diego county has nearly 300 people hospitalized with COVID, compared to about 100 one month ago. Also, flu cases are way higher than they've been in recent years as the county has already seen more than 10,000 cases, and last year at this time the county reported fewer than 400.
"We are seeing a very, very big surge, so it is important to protect yourself," said Dr. Abi Olulade, Sharp Rees-Stealy Family Medicine.
While reported cases of the flu, COVID, RSV, and other illnesses are trending up doctors suggest numbers are higher as many people who are sick often don’t report their cases.
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This is leading to an overflow of sick calls causing some business owners to share how they are struggling to staff their businesses and get relief workers during this time.
"I've had several clients call me the day of and say my baby sick and now my throat hurts and I'm like, 'You know what? Just stay home, let's keep everybody safe,'" said Tanya Alfaro, hairstylist and owner of Hair Slayers Studio in Chula Vista.
The South Bay mom knows a thing or two about dealing with illnesses seeing that she caught COVID-19 over the summer and that caused her to be out of her job for a month. But recently she’s undergone surgery and has been trying very hard to avoid catching any colds or viruses.
"Just everybody's sick right now. Like just wherever you look, somebody has a cough or somebody is sneezing," said Alfaro.
The CDC recommends that workers who have flu-like symptoms should promptly separate themselves from other workers and go home until at least 24 hours after their fever is gone without the use of fever-reducing medications, or after symptoms have improved.
"I feel like it's like an avalanche-like it came and it's still coming, it's still coming slowly and there's just one thing after another but there's nothing we can do, so just hang in there," said Alfaro. "What I've learned recently is don't take anything for granted."
