One more flu death has been reported to the state Department of Health, bringing the death toll from the current flu season to eight amid an increase in reported illness in the state, the department said Thursday.
The latest death was of a person 65 or older. The other deaths in the state this season include three people age 65 or older, three age 45-64 and one age 25-44, according to the Health Department.
Meanwhile, participating doctors' offices reported that 5.1% of their patients last week had flu-like illness, up from 3.5% a week earlier.
Over the same period, the percentage of emergency room patients with such illness fell slightly from 3.2% to 3.1%.
The flu season generally runs from October through May. During the previous season, 120 people in the state died of the flu.
Metro on 12/20/2019