Children's viruses that disappeared during pandemic lockdowns are back, doctors say

As children emerge from their homes after COVID-19-related lockdowns, common viruses that all but disappeared during the pandemic are re-emerging too, doctors say. 'This time of year in pediatric hospitals, it's usually quiet,' said Dr. Fatima Kakkar, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at CHU Sainte-Justine in Montreal. 'But now we're seeing a surge of respiratory infections.' The level of non-COVID illnesses is what Kakkar usually sees in the fall, she said, when children are out and about in daycares or schools.