Medical officials in Hudson Valley are concerned with a surge of respiratory illnesses in the area.

They say the flu is on the rise, and children make up the over half of the reported cases.

Dr. Louis Corsaro, the medical director for most schools in Westchester and Southern Putnam counties, says he's working with districts to monitor and contain the spread.

Between COVID-19 and RSV, he says he may have to consider recommending masks in certain classrooms again.

"I'm reluctant to do it, but it’s really one of the best propositions that we have to prevent disease within a classroom once I know that there's a significant amount of infections within that classroom to prevent spread,” he said.

Dr. Corsaro doesn't expect infections to level off any time soon. He urgently asks parents to keep their kids home when they're sick, reinforce handwashing and get vaccinated