{"id":342508,"date":"2023-12-21T14:16:40","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T04:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=342508"},"modified":"2023-12-21T14:17:15","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T04:17:15","slug":"rises-in-covid-19-flu-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/12\/21\/rises-in-covid-19-flu-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"Rises In COVID-19, Flu Cases"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard (Photo: Qld Health)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

December 21, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

Queensland has been experiencing an unseasonal surge in respiratory infections, with increases in hospital admissions for both influenza and COVID-19.<\/p>\n

Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said the recent rise in respiratory infections was unusual for this time of year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are currently 322 patients in Queensland hospitals with COVID-19 and 66 patients in hospital with influenza,\u201d Dr Gerrard said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe number of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 started climbing in mid-October, plateaued throughout November, and then took a surprising turn upwards again in December.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe current number of Queenslanders in hospital with COVID-19 is more than four times higher than mid-October.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile influenza hospitalisations remain far below their winter peak (more than 400), their summer rise is still unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week, 2162 cases of COVID-19 and 836 cases of influenza were recorded in Queensland.<\/p>\n

Overall, there has been more than 73,000 influenza cases recorded this year, far exceeding the 2022 total of 44,431.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr Gerrard said the number of tests coming back positive for Mycoplasma – which can cause pneumonia – had also tripled since the end of November.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have not seen significant numbers of cases of Mycoplasma infection since before the COVID-19 pandemic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe increase in cases corresponds with similar recent experiences in the Northern Hemisphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Gerrard suggested the current respiratory infection rate rise was likely due to two factors: the rise in gatherings ahead of Christmas and the influx of travellers from interstate and overseas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI urge everyone, especially during upcoming festive gatherings, to practice good hand hygiene habits and stay away from vulnerable friends and relatives if you are sick,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

“Older adults and young children are especially vulnerable to respiratory infections, so it\u2019s important we protect our loved ones this festive season by staying home when we are sick.”<\/p>\n

Dr Gerrard also reminded Queenslanders over 65 to get a COVID-19 booster if they had not had one this year.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Queensland has been experiencing an unseasonal surge in respiratory infections, with increases in hospital admissions for both influenza and COVID-19.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":309816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[172,3],"tags":[1551],"yoast_head":"\nRises In COVID-19, Flu Cases - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Queensland has been experiencing an unseasonal surge in respiratory infections, with increases in hospital admissions for both influenza and COVID-19.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/12\/21\/rises-in-covid-19-flu-cases\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rises In COVID-19, Flu Cases - 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