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Health providers are asking parents to treat kids with mild flu symptoms at home and avoid large gatherings as influenza cases spike ahead of the holidays, pushing hospital emergency departments over capacity.
The daily number of confirmed flu patients was up by 150 per cent in Ontario last week, with an 84 per cent increase in hospital admissions.
Cases are up nationally as well, but the province has been hit especially hard, with three children dying in the last two weeks of flu complications.
Influenza A positivity is now higher than any of the last three seasons, with increases across all age groups.