RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Last week, North Carolina emergency rooms saw a decrease in share of patients with respiratory virus symptoms for the first time since the beginning of flu season.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 13% of emergency room visits had symptoms of a respiratory virus last week, compared to 15.6% the week before. These include symptoms for illnesses such as COVID-19, RSV, and the flu.
Dr. Ryan Lamb, the medical director of the emergency room at UNC Rex, told CBS 17 it’s too early to tell if cases are trending downward.
“We get a little superstitious in the emergency department,” he said. “We don’t like to get ready or think things are going to improve, but we’re hopeful.”
Lamb added although his staff expects an uptick in illness this time of year, he said emergency rooms are dealing with more of these cases year-round since the pandemic.
“Since the era of COVID, we don’t really get a time to relax,” Lamb said. “[With] the volumes we have in Wake County, almost every month is very busy.”
Early into January, UNC Health implemented new visitor rules after an uptick in respiratory illness cases in the community, joining Duke University Health System. Data from Duke also shows an uptick in respiratory viruses across the system’s three hospitals.
At UNC Rex, Dr. Lamb said that these rules were not only to limit the spread of viruses but also to free space in crowding emergency rooms.
