As the number of cases of 3 winter respiratory viruses rises sharply in Delaware, state officials on Monday called on citizens to take action for themselves and their families.
Governor John Carney the surge of COVID emerging at that time in 2020 and 2021, before the holidays.
State fitness officials would like a tsunami of COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus and a repeat of last winter’s frantic January with record numbers of cases, hospitalizations, deaths and disastrous effects on schools and businesses.
His recommendation to stem this tide will sound familiar: get vaccinated. Stay home if you have health problems. See a doctor if you have underlying conditions or if the infection becomes severe. Get tested if you have health problems or if you are going to stop at vulnerable people. Wear a mask in crowded conditions to become infected.
Among the gifts released at Monday’s press convention were:
At this time last year, Carney said, the state was seeing an increasing number of COVID cases leading to an overwhelming number of cases caused by the Omicron variant. The 2022 increase is not as strong as it has been in recent years, he said. .
Nationally, fitness officials warn that all three viruses may shape a “triple epidemic” that threatens to overwhelm the fitness formula at a time when most establishments are struggling to retain well enough after 21/2 years of fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition to the other 86 people hospitalized due to COVID-19, another 20 people were hospitalized due to influenza.
While flu cases typically spike in January and peak in late winter and early spring, the flu set out long before this year, said Molly Magarik, secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Human Services. It includes the Division of Public Health.
People who delay their flu shots, which are thought to be effective for about six months, until later in the winter to be covered for the spring go ahead and get vaccinated now, he said.
This season started early with laboratory-confirmed cases appearing in September, the season is scheduled to begin in October. The number of cases doubled from 218 to 483 in the fourth week, he said.
Since only a fraction of cases are shown through lab tests, chances are heaps or even thousands of other cases are circulating.
The state recently created a flu information panel to make more available to the public. Find it here.
Magarik said neighboring states have reported that the number of RSV instances appears to be decreasing.
He suggested parents watch their children’s fever. The higher the fever, the more fever a child has, indicating a greater severity of RSV illness, he said.
“This deserves to put you on alert to more closely monitor your child’s symptoms,” Mpasi said.
Most viruses begin with coughing, congestion, and runny nose. He advised parents to monitor their children whether they have COVID-19 or not. RSV is harder on children 2 years old and younger.
The sicker a child with RSV is, the more behavioral adjustments a parent will see. This will come with decreased appetite and decreased energy, which will add that the child seems abnormally sleepy.
A parent may notice breathing problems, such as a child having difficulty breathing, wheezing, or the child’s chest sinking while struggling to breathe.
These symptoms, or a child’s lips and nails turning blue, indicating a lack of oxygen, require emergency care, Magarik said.
Betsy Price is a Wilmington-based freelancer with 40 years of experience, plus 15 years at the News Journal in Delaware.
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