Lab-confirmed cases of influenza saw a huge spike in the weeks before Christmas, but whether cases will see another post-holiday surge remains to be seen.

The latest influenza report for the province dates to the week ending December 17. There were 180 new lab-confirmed cases of the flu, with 41 hospitalizations, 5 ICU admissions and one death. The majority of cases, primarily involving Influenza A, were reported in the Eastern Health region.

That was down from the previous week, but health care officials are predicting another uptick in cases following the busy Christmas holiday period.

Cases started to rise in November and peaked in the week ending December 10. Until December 17, there had been a total of 612 lab-confirmed cases of influenza in the province with eight deaths due to the illness. Outbreaks of the flu and other respiratory illnesses jumped in November, while calls to the Healthline saw a similar surge in the last few weeks of November and into early December.