Rates of both Covid-19 and the flu are spiking sharply and prompting hospitals to reinstate masking orders, though they’re still far below the surge last winter.

Bostonians got more than just presents this holiday season, with the last weeks of December logging double or triple November’s respiratory infections and hospitalizations. Hospitals statewide are starting to reinstate mask mandates in response. That said, both infection and death numbers in the most recent data are a small fraction of the surge seen in January 2023.

Covid infection rates have more than doubled since November, going from around 20 new cases per day to the recent peak of 69 new infections on December 19. December's average hovered around 45 per day.

Death rates technically showed a similar climb, but that’s because two Bostonians died in December compared to November’s singular victim. While Covid is certainly no cakewalk, current rates can’t rival the mid-pandemic heights that buckled emergency rooms.

Data published on the city’s online Covid dashboard shows 115 Covid hospital admissions per day as of December 16, around double November’s rate. The wastewater testing sites installed to monitor overall infection are also registering around double their November rate.

More recent data on Covid infections has not yet been published by the city. While the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) has revamped its online dashboard with a sleek new look, the actual data available for the end of December is a week or two old, compared to the typical delay of under a week. Today’s Covid infections have been concentrated in the youngest residents, with a dead heat between the 0-9 and 30-39 age brackets. They outpaced even older generations, though Bostonians 60-69 came close.

Women also seem to be disproportionately at risk, making up 60% of new infections in November and December.

Racial disparities are the only demographic marker to stay in step with previous waves, with Black residents accounting for 30% of infections but 20% of the federal population census. White Bostonians were 25% of new infections despite making up almost 50% of the population. Hispanic residents are faring worse than they have in previous waves, though still narrowly underrepresented as 18% of new cases with 20% of the population. Asian Bostonians were 5% of new cases despite making up 10% of the city.

The rise in flu cases over the last month has been even sharper, with 300 reported per week as of December 23. A month prior that number was only 50. Flu-related visits to the emergency department were relatively flat until December 9, when they began to spike sharply. By December 23 the weekly average had doubled from 2.5 to 5.

A variety of Massachusetts hospitals have reinstated mask requirements, most prominently Mass General Brigham and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. A report from WGBH also noted policy changes to that effect at the Boston Medical Center, UMass Memorial and Tufts Medical Center.

Still, this is all a far cry from the outbreak seen last winter. This time last year, the city was logging over 4,000 new cases per day, albeit only briefly. The gestalt measure of covid in wastewater at that point was around double that of today, but its rate of hospitalizations peaked at 126 in a single day while December hovered around 15 to 20. In January, 137 Bostonians died from Covid, but only 2 fatal cases were logged before Christmas in December.

BPHC Executive Director Dr. Bisola Ojikutu said in a statement that the holiday was likely to blame for any data delays. She suggested that residents should still take basic precautions like vaccination, keeping test kits on-hand, covering coughs, washing hands and avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

“Residents should get vaccinated for COVD-19, flu and RSV. For RSV, talk to your health care provider to determine eligibility,” she said. “If you are sick, stay home to avoid putting others at risk. If you’re at high risk of getting very sick or have contact with someone who is, wear a N95 mask or respirator when indoors around others.”