"A lot of people think that Christmas is very busy, so what happens is they put things off until Boxing Day. Boxing Day is the storm," says Dr. Michael Curry, an emergency room physician at Delta Hospital.
Last year at this time, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said influenza activity had already crossed the seasonal threshold, indicating a 'start of an influenza epidemic.'
A new COVID-19 subvariant called HV.1 is gaining traction across Canada, but whether or not it is more contagious than past variants remains to be seen.