Doctors, Mayor express concern about the spike of respiratory viruses

BALTIMORE -- Another round of holiday gatherings are upon us. With the triple threat of respiratory viruses still in the air, it's prompted warnings not only from doctors, but also Baltimore's mayor.

As his family prepped all the fixin's for Thanksgiving dinner, Harrison Weber's family also made sure they could all be safe.

"We made sure we weren't sick, took the COVID test since they're readily available," Weber said.

That's the kind of caution Mayor Brandon Scott wants to see. At a press briefing Wednesday, he said there's been nearly 100 COVID cases a day on average recently. There also have been 140 people hospitalized because of the virus in the last week.

The return of a mask mandate isn't entirely off the table.

"We're gonna be watching the numbers and I'll be talking with doctors, our hospitals and other advisors in making the decision based on the science and data," Scott said.

But, most hospitalizations are tied to the flu. As of Dec. 3, according to state data, there are more than 400 flu hospitalizations. Along with RSV cases, it's made things busy at Franklin Square Medical Center.

"Hospitalizations are a ten year high. We haven't see this level in more than ten years," said Anya Bashian, the Director of Infection Prevention at Franklin Square Medical Center.

However, due to COVID, doctors there at least have some practice in dealing with high volumes.

"We're able to use our past experiences in the recent past to really kind of excel and use all of our available resources," said Dr. Anita Tammara, medical director for the Franklin Square Primary Care Center.

Both Bashian and Tammara recommend practicing respiratory etiquette: cover your cough, wash your hands, wear a mask if needed.

They're things Sumen Paneru does, especially to protect her 3-year-old, Saya.

"Whenever we need to go out, we make sure that she has her sanitizer on her hands, [along with her] mask and everything like that," Paneru said.

Mayor Scott said COVID self-test kits and KN95 masks are available to the public at all Pratt Library locations while they're open. Before you go, you can see test kit and mask availability online at Pratt Library's website.