ROANOKE, Va. – Welcome to What’s Going Around! Here we’ll dive into local disease trends in our area. Thanks to our partnership with Johns Hopkins University and the Center for Outbreak Response Innovation, we’re able to show you localized disease data within our community.
In Roanoke County and surrounding counties, COVID-19 emergency department visit levels remain low. Flu and RSV emergency department rates in Virginia are decreasing as of Feb. 13.
Seasonal influenza activity has decreased since January, while seasonal RSV activity remains moderate.
Halifax County and the town of South Boston have a very high level of emergency department visits for RSV, but flu and COVID-19 numbers there are low and decreasing.
Rockbridge County, Wise County and the city of Lexington have a high level of emergency department visits for RSV, while flu and COVID-19 rates remain steadily low.
Based on CDC modeling of emergency department visits, the rate of new respiratory illness cases, including COVID-19, flu and RSV, in Virginia is declining or likely declining.
There is a caveat with RSV activity, being that wastewater monitoring has flagged elevated concentrations of the RSV virus from a statewide level. Usually, elevated virus concentration in wastewater can be a predictor of a coming wave of a disease.
So what is this indicative of? Well, wastewater can be tested to detect traces of infectious diseases circulating in a community, even if citizens do not have signs of symptoms.
In contrast, most of the country is still elevated, seeing stable or growing rates, according to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Health Security.
How Virginia compares nationally
Seasonal influenza activity remains elevated nationally. RSV and COVID-19 activity is elevated in many areas of the country.
Emergency department visits for RSV are highest among infants younger than 1-year-old and children ages 1 to 4, the CDC shares. RSV hospitalizations are highest among infants younger than 1-year-old.
A Virginia child died of the flu on Jan. 15, 2026. It was the first pediatric flu death of the 2025-26 season, Virginia health officials reported.
The CDC expects that the fall and winter respiratory disease season in the United States will likely have a similar number of combined peak hospitalizations due to COVID-19, influenza and RSV compared with last season.
Preventing respiratory illnesses
The CDC recommends several steps to help protect against respiratory illnesses, including:
- Staying up to date on recommended vaccinations.
- Practicing good hygiene, such as cleaning your hands often and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces.
- Improving indoor air by opening windows when possible and using HEPA air purifiers at home and work.
- Wearing masks in crowded or high‑risk settings.
- Keeping physical distance from others, especially if you or they are at higher risk.
- Using tests that can detect COVID-19, influenza and RSV.
For people 65 and older and those with underlying health conditions, updated COVID-19 boosters are also recommended by the CDC.
If you are already sick, taking precautions, such as staying home when possible, covering coughs and sneezes, and masking around others, can help prevent the illness from worsening and spreading.
Click here to learn more about the Center for Outbreak Response Innovation!