Across the country, overflow health care workers are struggling to catch their breath as hospitals fill with sick patients battling a trifecta of respiratory illnesses – Covid-19, RSV and the flu.The flu is up and other respiratory viruses are up as well.”The situation is so overwhelming at UC San Diego Health, the hospital had to create space to triage patients by setting up tents in parking lots and using other unconventional spaces.“These are really unprecedented times.”Last week, hospitals across the nation were the fullest they have been throughout the pandemic, reaching 80% capacity, which is an 8 percentage-point jump in two weeks.Dr. Jeff Smith, executive vice president and chief operating officer for hospital operations at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said the “extreme, rapid rise” of RSV from October into November was likely “the most RSV we’ve seen in the past decade.”“And now we’ve seen a rapid decline (in RSV),” said Smith.“These are independent viruses that can infect the same individual and, obviously, the more viruses, the more infections you have … the higher the risk of one of them leading to more serious disease.”Mask mandates have not yet returned, but virus spikes in New York, Los Angeles and Seattle have led health departments to recommend people mask up indoor and in crowds."