ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — In a press conference Friday, healthcare leaders said that significant increases in COVID, flu, and RSV cases have led to capacity issues at our major hospitals. Public health commissioner Dr. Marielena Vélez de Brown said that 24 people have died in Monroe County this flu season. According to the NYS flu tracker, Monroe County had nearly 700 flu cases last week. The data shows that numbers this year may be starting to peak later. Dr. Vélez de Brown cited the post-holiday sickness bump for this increase, and added this to keep people out of the hospital: "Please know it is not too late to get your vaccines… We have an RSV vaccine for our youngest and adults over 75," she said. Dr. Vélez de Brown urged basic hygiene like hand washing and masking in busy places. Dr. Robert Mayo with RRH says if you have respiratory issues, go to your PCP, or an urgent care first. He said that RRH hospitals hit 150% capacity across its footprint this weekend. "It's a concern for us, naturally, to have enough patient capacity, with our ERs very crowded, and resulting in delays in care," he said. Dr. Michael Apostolakos said that elder patients are being admitted for the care they could be receiving at a nursing home. He says there are about 100 of these patients at Strong currently. Strong hit record census this week — over 1,100 patients — and he adds that pausing elective surgeries or similar measures are not on the table yet. "We meet twice daily to discuss capacity to discuss surgeries, in our emergency rooms, and we try to avoid altering anyone's care," he said. Dr. Apostolakos area has the lowest number of hospital beds per 1,000 people in the state, and is below the national average. He is also "optimistic" that government solutions, whether through partnerships with the county or legislative change, could help continuing staffing problems.