ASHEVILLE, NC – January 17, 2024 – There is a surge of respiratory viral infections, like COVID-19, influenza (the flu) and RSV, as people spend more time indoors during the cold winter months and due to an increase in indoor gatherings and travel during the holidays. However, the COVID pandemic has made us aware that we can take steps to reduce spreading respiratory viruses. Therefore, we have to protect at-risk groups, like older adults and the immunocompromised, who remain susceptible to getting severely ill.
The COVID-19 metrics are on the CDC’s COVID Dashboard. For the week ending on January 6th
- Hospital admission levels are low in about 60% of the counties in North Carolina, including Buncombe County, and high in 0%. They are low in about half of the counties in the U.S. and high in less than 10%. Admissions have increased in the U.S. by about 3%, decreased in North Carolina by about 5% and increased in Buncombe County from the previous week.
- About 5.0% of the deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the 3rd highest level of 6 groups.
- Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are moderate in North Carolina. This represents about 4.0% of all ER visits, the 3rd lowest of 5 levels and a moderate decrease from the previous week.
Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID outbreaks. The Buncombe & Henderson counties wastewater data for the week ending on January 3rd is on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard.
- The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at a red level representing the highest level of 5 groups, currently between the 80th and 100th percentile relative to the past level measured at the same site.
- The 15-day rate of change of the number of viral gene copies in each water sample has increased from the previous week, at 100% or greater, the highest level of 3 groups for a positive rate of change.
The CDC’s weekly flu surveillance report for the week ending on January 6th indicates that levels are either high or very high for every southern state from California to the East coast. North Carolina is at a very high level, the 11th highest of 13 levels.
The CDC reports that the 3-week average for the percent positivity for RSV PCR tests in North Carolina had climbed to more than 10% from November 4th to December 16th reaching a peak of almost 15% around Thanksgiving. The most recent report on the week of January 6th shows that percent positivity is down to about 7%.
The weekly North Carolina Respiratory Virus Summary Dashboard was last updated for the week ending on January 6th. Emergency room visits for people with respiratory virus symptoms have decreased by more than 25%. Hospital admissions have decreased for both COVID and the flu. There were more admissions for COVID than the flu last week.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, the CDC director, told Yahoo Life, if you are starting to feel sick with a cough, sore throat or fever: get tested, get treatment, and stay home.
Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, tells USA Today.com that COVID-19 cases should increase over the winter as they have the past 3 years.
Listen to the full report below:
Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, healthyasheville@ashevillefm.org