Influenza cases surging as respiratory illness season strains Canada’s emergency rooms, children’s hospitals

Canada’s flu season is in full swing with cases of respiratory illnesses surging across the country, putting additional pressure on already strained emergency departments and children’s hospitals.The spike is being driven by influenza, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada’s latest FluWatch report, which shows the proportion of tests that came back positive for this virus was 11.3 per cent during the first week of January, up from 10.1 the week prior.Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, seemed to peak in December but still has a positivity rate of 10.7, according to the update released last Friday. Meanwhile, COVID-19 is stable nationally at 9.2 per cent.