The number of new flu cases and the number of people dying from lingering flu symptoms dropped in Minnesota again last week.
Five people who died in previous weeks were confirmed by the Minnesota Department of Health this week as flu-related, including a St. Louis County resident in their 50s, an Itasca County resident in their 20s and a Carlton County resident in their 70s.
While the deaths were confirmed Wednesday as flu-related, they all occurred in November and are believed to have been reported already in the News Tribune.
One school and no nursing homes reported new flu outbreaks last week. There were only 14 reported flu-related hospitalizations last week, down from nearly 450 per week at the peak of the H1N1 outbreak in October.
Since Sept. 1, there have been 1,581 confirmed novel H1N1 influenza hospitalizations and 1,841 total novel H1N1 hospitalizations.
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There have been 50 deaths in Minnesota related to the flu this year, including 44 confirmed H1N1 cases, four suspected H1N1 and one confirmed seasonal flu death. Of those 50, nine have been in Northeastern Minnesota.
