All the safety precautions we’ve taken to try to curb the spread of COVID-19 have worked — for the flu.
“The flu numbers are profoundly low,” medical officer of health Dr. Charles Gardner reported this week. “We have had no report of laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza in Simcoe-Muskoka and almost none in the province on the whole."
He pointed out the local experience is consistent with what other jurisdictions are seeing and what the southern hemisphere experienced earlier this year during the pandemic’s first wave.
Gardner credits the control measures that were put in place for COVID, as well as an increased uptake in those seeking the influenza vaccine, in keeping the flu at bay.
“The distancing and the masking and the hand washing have had their impact on other respiratory viruses, including influenza,” he said.
While that does offer some hope, Gardner points out that COVID-19’s persistence despite all the hand washing, distancing and other precautions shows how virulent it is.
“Given that these measures have been so effective against these other respiratory viruses, I think really says a lot about just how communicable, how transmissible COVID-19 is that we’re still seeing a rise in cases despite the control measures,” he said, stressing the importance of doubling prevention efforts.
While the availability of the vaccine offers light at the end of the tunnel, we still have a ways to go to get there, he said.
Gardner repeated the call to limit contact with others, wear masks, wash hands and not cluster — a problem that resulted in an increase of cases over the holidays.
