Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Influenza strikes again. According to Memorial Health‘s research, they have started noticing that one in every four cases they’ve treated, has been flu related.

Dr. Ted Clark, Chief Clinical Officer for Memorial Health, spoke on the WTAX Morning Newswatch about the current rise in influenza cases, ways to avoid spreading the virus, and also some of the restrictions that the hospital has had to implement for patient visitors.

“We definitely saw a surge in flu activity that started around Thanksgiving. It continued to climb through the Christmas holiday season, and as the kids are getting back in school, it’s another opportunity to swap those viruses around, so we’re still very much in surge mode at all of our hospitals” Clark said in his interview.

That being said, this flu spike that originally began in November, has now grown to higher numbers in cases as of now, especially after Christmas.

Clark said “So one of the measures that we follow to determine local flu activity, is what percentage of swabs that we do come back positive. We’ve peaked at about twenty-five to twenty-six percent have come back positive for influenza, and there’s also a bit of covid hanging around right now as well.”

As far as restrictions go, they are understandable. Currently, you must be of age eighteen or older, showing no signs of active illness, and visits are limited to two visitors per patient. Masks are not mandatory at this time during your visit but are encouraged and masks will be provided free of charge near the entrance to the hospital.

Symptoms of the flu usually involve fever, chills, body aches, sneezing and coughing, and even sometimes vomiting or diarrhea. If you have any of these symptoms, it may be time for you to go get checked out by your local urgent care or by your family practitioner.

The most efficient way to stay healthy this flu season, is frequent hand washing or sanitizing, try to avoid other people while they are ill, and if you can’t avoid sick people, wearing a mask will be a better frontline defense from getting sick than you may think. Droplets in the air that were emitted from a cough or sneeze can sometimes linger, so even if you were not nearby when they last sneezed or coughed, you could still potentially get sick.

Clark did state as well that he expects this rise in influenza to reach its peak very soon.