St. Peter’s Health System and other medical professionals in the Capital Region are on high alert because of rapidly spreading seasonal illnesses.

Local hospitals such as St. Peter’s are restricting visitor access to anyone exhibiting cold or flu-like symptoms.

Dr. Joshua Drake said they are experiencing a high volume of patients at Samaritan Hospital due to that uptick in respiratory viruses and norovirus.

“So the ER, since the flu really started to hit us, has been very, very busy, more so than even we’re used to around this time of year,” he said. “Unfortunately, because of the prevalence of flu that we’re seeing right now, we do have a significant portion of patients who are very ill and need to be hospitalized, and that makes it a little bit slower to take care of every other patient.”

If you have mild symptoms and think you need to be seen, contact your primary care provider or head to urgent care.