ATLANTA — Local doctors are urging people to take precautions because of what they call a “tripledemic,” which is stressing Georgia hospitals.
Channel 2′s Audrey Washington spoke with doctors this week, who continue to urge caution over the holiday period.
Doctors have seen a rise in respiratory infections, the flu and now, COVID-19 in recent weeks.
They are not surprised at this trend as more people gather and travel for the holidays.
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On Nov. 23, there were 4,062 weekly COVID-19 cases in Georgia. A week later, that number spiked to 6,244 weekly cases.
“We have been cooped up for so long that we haven’t gotten the usual exposure to viruses like we normally do during the year,” family physician Dr. Cecil F. Bennett Jr. said. “No one is wearing a mask anymore, everyone is out in public socializing, it increases the risk of contracting one of those viruses.”
Doctors say people can minimize their threat by masking up in crowded areas and getting a COVID-19 booster and flu shot.
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It is possible to get both the flu and COVID-19 at the same time, doctors say.
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