COVID-19 cases, influenza and RSV cases are all trending up in Saskatchewan according to the Ministry of Health.
In the latest Community Respiratory Illness Surveillance Program (CRISP) report for Oct. 9-22, 1,154 new COVID-19 cases were reported.
Among them, 488 cases occurred during the week of Oct. 9-15 and 666 from Oct. 16-22.
Saskatchewan’s overall COVID test positivity rate has increased to 11.6 per cent, up from 9.8 per cent from the previous report.
According to the province, COVID-19 hospitalizations have remained in a plateau since the beginning of August at roughly 176 hospital admissions per week and ICU admissions have been at roughly 10 weekly. For the week of Oct. 16-22, there were 187 hospital admissions and eight intensive care unit (ICU) admissions reported and 165 hospital admissions and 14 ICU admissions related to COVID-19 for the week prior.
And while COVID-19 numbers are rising to levels similar to the end of September, flu season is in full swing across the province.
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Influenza cases have risen five times what they were during the week of Oct. 9 as Saskatchewan saw 15 new cases. About 2.5 per cent of influenza tests are now coming back positive, the report noted, but no deaths or outbreaks related to influenza have yet been reported in Saskatchewan.
According to the report, the test positivity rate for other respiratory viruses in the province (46 per cent) is four times that of COVID-19 (11.6 per cent).
Hospitalization data for influenza was not included in the report.
RSV cases have also increased from three to five in the past two weeks.
This matches a similar trend being seen in other provinces. Both Ontario and Quebec have been hit hard by a spike in RSV cases.
Experts say the RSV season typically begins October, but this year cases were being seen as early as August.
The illness can usually be managed at home and only lasts a couple of weeks, though it can become dangerous for premature babies and kids with asthma.
“Red flag symptoms are if their child seems to be breathing with some difficulty,” said Dr. Scott Handland. “So that might look like rapid breathing. Or they’re using excess excessive muscles to breathe like their shoulder muscles or drawing in at the rib cage or in their bellies.”
According to the report, the test positivity rate for other respiratory viruses in the province (46 per cent) is four times that of COVID-19 (11.6 per cent).
The RSV vaccine is currently reserved for children in the high-risk category and has to be given in advance of the cold and flu season.
Experts are urging parents to keep sick kids home as well as to wash their hands and avoid kissing babies.
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