COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Flu-related hospitalizations in Ohio last week reached their highest number for the 2019-2020 season, state health officials said Friday.
A total of 832 people were hospitalized with the flu between Jan. 26 and Feb. 1, a 36% jump from the previous week, the Ohio Department of Health said Friday.
State Health Director Dr. Amy Acton in a release said the hospitalization numbers are “deeply concerning.”
The health department said an 11-year-old girl in Lake County northeast of Cleveland died from the flu earlier this week, the second pediatric flu death this season. A 16-year-old girl in Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, was the first.
The state does not keep track of adult flu-related deaths.
There have been nearly 4,500 reported flu-related hospitalizations in Ohio thus far this season.
