Flu cases hit 78 for the season
Flu cases continue to rise slowly in the state but deaths and hospitalizations because of the illness remain flat.
The latest flu report published by the state Department of Public Health show that as of Feb. 27, 78 people in Connecticut tested positive for the flu — up from 69 a week earlier. There were no new deaths or hospitalizations because of the flu last week.
So far this season, there has been one flu-related death and 13 flu-related hospitalizations in the state.
This flu season has been unusually quiet. By comparison, last year, as of Feb. 22, there had been 10,286 people who had tested positive for the flu. There had also been 58 flu-associated deaths and 2,230 fluassociated hospitalizations.
Flu in Connecticut has been classified as “sporadic” for months. Sporadic means that a small number of laboratory-confirmed flu cases or a single laboratory-confirmed outbreak has been reported, but no increase in cases of influenzalike illness.
Flu cases have been low nationally as well as locally. Throughout this flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have regularly reported the number of people testing positive for flu is “unusually low,” and that all states were experiencing minimal flu activity.
However, the CDC also reported that flu levels might be affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and “should be interpreted with caution.”
Experts have attributed this season’s low flu numbers to the protective measures to guard against COVID-19 during the pandemic. The measures include wearing masks and avoiding large groups — measures that could help prevent the spread not just of COVID-19 but also other contagious illnesses, including flu.