A surge of patients sick with the flu is stretching the resources of emergency rooms at Roanoke-area hospitals.

On Wednesday, the number of patients treated at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital’s emergency department exceeded the normal operating capacity of 225 patients per day.

Both Roanoke Memorial and LewisGale Medical Center in Salem have seen their capacity levels tested more than once recently, as an influenza outbreak struck hard in Southwest Virgina starting in mid-December.

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