Parents of children under five are being urged to stay vigilant to limit the transmission of respiratory viruses as cases of respiratory illnesses increase.
NSW Health said children with even mild respiratory symptoms should be kept home from school or childcare.
Acting Executive Director of Health Protection at NSW Health, Richard Broome said NSW Health data showed increasing Emergency Department (ED) presentations for bronchiolitis, pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses in children aged zero to four.
“Hospital admissions from ED in children are also elevated for bronchiolitis and all respiratory illnesses or fever,” Dr Broome said.
“Testing data has revealed an increase in the number of diagnoses of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in young children,” he said.
“While much of our focus this year has been on limiting the transmission of COVID-19, there are a number of other respiratory viruses that are transmitted very easily and can result in severe illness in young children and other vulnerable people.”
Dr Broome said that while respiratory illnesses were usually more common during the cooler months, the recent easing of restrictions may have contributed to the unseasonal increase.
“Even with very low levels of COVID-19 and the easing of restrictions, it is still important that anyone experiencing respiratory symptoms remain home from work, school or childcare, get tested, and pay attention to hand hygiene to reduce the transmission of other respiratory viruses,” he said.
“Despite the recent easing of restrictions, it continues to be really important for anyone with respiratory symptoms to get tested for COVID-19.”
Dr Broome said a negative COVID-19 test didn’t mean people weren’t infectious with a different virus, and they should discuss when to return to work, school, or childcare with their doctor.
