Health Canada says respiratory hospitalizations fell 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.

The latest national influenza data released Friday accounts for the period of Jan. 4 to Jan. 10 and shows the number of new flu cases is on the decline.

People over the age of 65 continue to be the most affected, an age group vulnerable to complications. 

The rough flu season hit early, initially spreading mostly among kids, and it led to the deaths of three children in the Ottawa area. 

Alberta hospitals have been overwhelmed with patients, leading to overcrowding and physicians calling on the province to invoke a public health state of emergency.

There were 8,206 new cases of flu detected the week ending Jan. 10, compared to 14,715 new cases the prior week.

Meanwhile, hospitalizations for respiratory conditions dropped sharply to 2,537 from 4,336 people. 

Those hospitalizations also include people hospitalized with COVID-19 and RSV, but rates for those viruses are far lower than those of the flu. 

Of those who were tested for respiratory viruses, 3.6 per cent were positive for RSV, 5.5 per cent were positive for COVID-19, and 18.1 per cent were positive for influenza.

That’s down from a peak of 33 per cent of influenza tests being positive the week of Christmas — the highest the rate has been over the past three seasons.