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Flu Cases Decrease In NY State For First Time This Winter

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas
Published March 1, 2018 at 4:02 PM EST
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Carol E. Davis
Health officials continue to encourage New Yorkers to get a flu shot.

The number of laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza has dropped across New York state, the first decline since the flu was deemed widespread in December. 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that about 13,700 flu cases were reported last week to the state Department of Health, down from 18,250 the previous week. The flu is blamed for claiming the lives of five children.

Over the past three months, more than 100,000 cases of the flu have been reported in the state, with nearly 18,300 people requiring hospitalization.

Health officials say the number of New Yorkers hospitalized last week with the lab-confirmed flu cases fell for the third consecutive week to around 1,700.

© 2018 AP
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New York News flu shotNew York Governor Andrew Cuomo
Dave Lucas
Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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