ROANOKE, Va. – With sniffles spreading, 10 News spoke with health leaders to find out where sickness stands in the region.
“It looks like we peaked for now at the beginning of January,” Director of the Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts Dr. Cynthia Morrow said. “The bit of caution that I want to be careful of is that influenza is still unpredictable.”
Dr. Morrow said thankfully high flu and COVID-19 levels are starting to trend down, but we shouldn’t let our guard down just yet.
“It’s never too late to get a flu shot,” Dr. Morrow said. “We will continue to have influenza activity for several weeks if not a couple more months.”
People young and old should take part in preventative measures.
“Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands,” Dr. Morrow said. “That’s one of the important tools that we have.”
And of course, keep your distance from others when you’re sick, covering your coughs and sneezes.
“I’m not that subtle about it,” Dr. Morrow said. “If I see someone coughing and sneezing, I tend to back up a little bit.”
If you get sick with the flu you can go back to work when you’re off of fever-reducing medicine and without a fever for 24 hours but COVID-19 is a little different.
“CDC is still recommending that if you have COVID that you stay at home for five days and that you wear a mask if you return to work after those five days,” Dr. Morrow said.