Flu still going is SC: 142 deaths reported this season

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The flu isn’t finished with South Carolina.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control reported one new flu death in the first week of March.

Since the flu season started in late September, DHEC says 142 people have died from flu in South Carolina. Only 78 people died from the illness last flu season.

Doctors say they are still seeing a number of flu cases late in the season. DHEC says 120 people in the hospital tested positive for flu the first week of March, up slightly from the week before.

This year’s flu continues to hit older adults the hardest. Nearly 93 percent of the state’s flu deaths have been in people age 50 or older.