Local hospitals continue to see more cases of COVID-19 as students head back to the classroom, prompting health experts to warn of a second season for respiratory illnesses.

"We are seeing COVID cases increase here in Bexar County," said Dr. Jason Bowling, University Health's chief epidemiologist and a professor of medicine and infectious diseases at UT Health San Antonio.

The rise, which for the third straight year fell during the late summer, indicates to Bowling that public health officials should be considering respiratory illnesses beyond the traditional winter months we associate with the cold and flu.