LOUISVILLE, Ky. — According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rates of respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19, flu and RSV are on the rise. 

Kentucky doctors have urged people to use best practices around the holidays to keep themselves from getting sick. 

Robert Link, Norton Healthcare physician, said he recommends frequent hand-washing, wearing a mask around high-risk individuals such as the elderly and staying home if feeling sick. 

“I can say, anecdotally, about 50% of the patients I see in the emergency care center have been having respiratory-like symptoms such as body aches, runny nose, cough, congestion,” Link said.

He added they are seeing a recent uptick in patients who likely have a respiratory illness. 

“Just so far, we've seen that (COVID-19) has more than doubled in the terms of positive cases,” Link said. “We've had flu more than quadruple, and that's just in the past three weeks alone.”

Link said numbers are still far lower than they were at the onset of the pandemic but are trending upward faster compared to this time last year. 

“I would say if you're having some symptoms like runny nose, cough, congestion, body aches, (it's) totally reasonable to go to an immediate care center, urgent care center and look online for scheduling,” Link said.

Those with more severe symptoms such as pain, difficulty breathing or swelling should head to the emergency room, he added. 

“We know that people who do get viral respiratory infections, such as influenza or COVID-19, make their body more susceptible to bacterial infection such as bacterial pneumonias," he said. "It's always important to get those evaluated in the emergency care site." 

It is also recommended to stay up to date on vaccinations for influenza and COVID-19.