Statewide flu deaths on rise

Several Clay County residents have likelbeen diagnosed with influenza over the past few months and though spring is here,  the flu is still running rampant in North Carolina, according to the N.C. Health and Human Services. 

They report that the state's death rate has climbed over the previous year.

According to the agency, as of March 16 there have been 110 flu deaths since Oct. 2, 2016. Janice Patterson, director of the Clay County Health Department said, “The 110  is almost twice the number of deaths reported last year.”