Fall has officially arrived and with it, has come the allergy, cold and flu season.
The problem now is that all symptoms can look like COVID-19 said Ross Kirkconnell, executive director of the Guelph Family Health Team who oversees numerous health clinics across the city and runs the city's COVID Assessment Clinic.
“You really pretty much have to assume, you know to be safe, that you treat it like COVID,” said Kirkconnell.
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health said it’s important to know that COVID-19, the flu and the common cold are respiratory illnesses with similar symptoms.
“The only way to be certain is to get tested – which Public Health would encourage for anyone experiencing symptoms,” said Danny Williamson, communications specialist at Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health.
Kirkconnell said on Monday, the Guelph COVID-19 Assessment Centre saw approximately 600 people waiting to get tested.
“A month ago, we were seeing 300 of them on a busy day. So we doubled,” he said.
“I would say almost half of them had some kind of symptom,” Kirkconnell said of individuals with a range of symptoms from a runny nose to a sore throat.
He said the majority of groups the assessment clinic is seeing are families who are sending their children to school and need to be cleared to attend classes.
“It's a tough time for people because you don't know what you have and you have to look after it as if it was COVID.
Kirkconnell said the three most common areas his team is noticing COVID-19 outbreaks in is workplaces, social gatherings and family gatherings.
“Interestingly enough, while workplaces have done a good job sort of protecting, when we’re seeing people getting it is maybe when they’ve let their guard done like a lunchroom or in the courtroom,” said Kirkconnell.
“Don’t let your guard down. We’re all tired of this and I think people are saying, ‘You know? How many active cases do we have in our community? It's probably fine.’ Probably fine is the wrong message that we should give ourselves and each other.”
He said workers at the front desk are working very hard to meet patient demands, protect health care workers and meet patient needs.
“Sometimes we all get a little impatient and whether its the front desk at the doctor’s office or the cashier at the supermarket. They’re the front line people and they’re doing their best to keep us all safe,” said Kirkconnell.
