Public health officials in Toronto confirmed that the level of respiratory diseases in the city remains high, but it appears to be decreasing after a wave of infections during the holidays.

Dr. Irene Armstrong, Deputy Medical Officer of the Toronto Board of Health, said during a presentation on Monday: “Coronavirus and influenza activity is high in Toronto, but we know that influenza levels are decreasing.”

The influenza positivity rate reached 6.6 percent for the last week, compared to 15.6 percent for the previous week, and Armstrong said that COVID-19 positivity was “high but stable now,” at 17.6 percent in the last week, a slight decrease of one percentage point compared to the previous week.

After a steady rise since September, and an increase during the holidays in late December, emergency department visits in Toronto for respiratory diseases have started to decline, although they remain at moderate levels.

Armstrong said: "Influenza levels at this time are higher than the usual pre-pandemic historical average for this time of year," "Historically, before the pandemic, influenza activity began in November and peaked in late December or early January. For the 2023-2024 season, it started a bit earlier in mid-October and appears to have peaked near the end of December."

While there is evidence that infection rates may decrease somewhat, the overall level of viral activity remains high.

Armstrong added: "Although we are currently unable to update our dashboard, we are still monitoring preliminary data and see that signals of influenza and COVID-19 in Toronto are high but stable at this time."

Health officials said there are 72 active COVID-19 outbreaks in healthcare facilities in the city as of January 12. Additionally, there were 15 influenza outbreaks and nine respiratory syncytial virus outbreaks.

Armstrong said these numbers are similar to the number of outbreaks seen at about the same time in the 2022-2023 season.

She continued, "Respiratory outbreak activity is high in hospitals, long-term care homes, and seniors' residences across the city." "This is not unexpected at this time of year. It is too early to determine if we are at the peak of respiratory outbreak activity overall in Toronto."

From January 2 to 10, TPH received reports of 122 hospital admissions related to COVID-19, eight new intensive care unit admissions, and 44 COVID-19 related deaths.

Armstrong noted that data indicates COVID-19 levels are increasing across Ontario.

In Hamilton, health officials urged people last week to do their best to limit the spread of respiratory viruses as hospitals there are currently "under severe pressure" and exceeding capacity.

Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) said in a statement last week: “We are seeing a large number of people sick in our emergency departments due to virus season.” "At the same time, staff absences due to illness present a challenge in meeting the needs of this increasing number of patients."

The hospital network said adult acute occupancy rates at all Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care sites consistently exceed 100 percent, and some patients are currently being treated in emergency spaces such as hallways.

The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care said nine surgeries were postponed last week due to the situation, and they are working to expedite patient discharges, where appropriate, to keep up with demand.

The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care said: “Healthcare partners in Hamilton are asking for community help to prevent the spread of respiratory diseases during the fall and winter seasons and to maintain access to urgent care and emergency resources in the city for those who need them most.”

To reduce the spread of respiratory diseases, people are still encouraged to stay home if they feel ill and use rapid tests to check if they have COVID-19. Health officials warned that a single negative rapid test is not necessarily a definitive indicator that a person does not have COVID-19. Patients should perform multiple tests over several days for a more accurate assessment.

Armstrong said that TPH is also working to provide access to the Novavax vaccine, a non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, which was approved by Health Canada on December 5.

The health unit also expanded eligibility for the new RSV vaccine on December 7.