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ST. GEORGE — If there's something that the local medical community may be thankful for this year, it's that local levels of respiratory diseases like COVID-19 and influenza are at their lowest for the Thanksgiving holiday since before the pandemic.
The latest data released late Wednesday by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services indicates that in the prior seven days, there had been an average of six emergency room visits per day among southern Utah residents for COVID-19, 2.86 visits for influenza and 0.29 visits for RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, a common cause of mild cold-like symptoms.
That compares to 10.86 per day for COVID, 7.57 for the flu and 3.57 for RSV at this time a year ago, when local health officials were much more pessimistic about the holiday.
Nevertheless, even with the good pathogen cheer, local doctors and medical officials say people should still be germ-aware when gathering for the holidays. And especially for older family members and friends who are more susceptible to hospitalization and death from respiratory diseases, it's best to stay away from the big gathering if you feel sick.
