Back-to-school germs increasing cases of COVID-19

SALT LAKE CITY — Back-to-school germs, along with sudden changes in our weather, are causing more cases of head colds and COVID-19 right now.

Utah Health Department Respiratory Disease Epidemiologist, Pamela Gomez says now that kids are back in the classroom and bringing home more germs, it’s not surprising.

“It makes sense that we would see an increase in respiratory viruses overall,” she said. 

Gomez says while relatively small, the largest illness increase has been in COVID-19 cases.

“But as far as flu and RSV, those numbers are still low.”

Those illnesses don’t usually hit as hard until October, Gomez said. 

The weather is also playing a part. Sudden changes can affect our immune systems, Gomez said, such as recent storms and upcoming temperature shifts. 

“We have had a couple of weekends with rainy weather in the Utah Valley so that definitely contributes,” she said. 

Gomez says that now is the time to start beefing up those healthy habits to protect yourself, practices like good nutrition and well-maintained hygiene.

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