Health Canada says hospitalizations for respiratory problems declined from more than 4,300 to about 2,500 in the second week of January, after the flu season hit a three-year high last month.
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The most recent national flu data, released Friday, covers the period January 4-10 and shows the number of new cases is declining.
People over 65 remain the most affected, an age group vulnerable to complications.
This particularly virulent flu season struck early, initially spreading mainly among children, and resulted in the deaths of three children in the Ottawa area.
Alberta’s hospitals have been overwhelmed, causing congestion and prompting doctors to call on the province to declare a state of health emergency.
Authorities counted 8,206 new flu cases in the week ending January 10, compared to 14,715 the previous week.
At the same time, hospitalizations for respiratory problems fell sharply, from 4,336 to 2,537 people. These hospitalizations also include people being treated for COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), but infection rates for these viruses are much lower than for the flu.
Of those tested for respiratory viruses, 3.6% were positive for RSV, 5.5% for COVID-19 and 18.1% for influenza.
This rate is down from the 33% peak of positive flu tests recorded the week of Christmas, the highest rate in the last three seasons.
