By Elizabeth Dunbar, Minnesota Public Radio News

ST. PAUL — The worst of the flu season in Minnesota is likely over, Minnesota health officials said Thursday.

With the number of hospitalizations and outbreaks down for the third week in a row, the illness has peaked, said Kris Ehresmann, director of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the Minnesota Department of Health.

“We’re glad to see that things are slowing down,” she said.

The state saw 135 hospitalizations in the week that ended Saturday, compared with 628 just three weeks before. There were 36 outbreaks reported at schools, compared to 112 last week, and there were eight outbreaks at nursing homes, compared to 48 two weeks ago.

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