As the winter break has ended and students and staff have returned to school, a number of schools went on heightened alert as respiratory illnesses increased in their communities.

According to K-12 Dive, while some communities are currently experiencing a rise in respiratory illnesses, the trend doesn’t seem to compare to the disruptions schools experienced from illnesses in fall 2022. During that period, a “tripledemic” of COVID, flu, and RSV caused some schools to pause in-person learning or revert to pandemic-era protocols for safety and learning.

Presently, as good practice health officials are advocating preventative measures like frequent handwashing and vaccinations to help minimize spread of COVID-19, flu, and RSV.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.