From October to May every year, residents are wary of the dreaded flu season.

Thousands flock to receive flu shots, buy extra bottles of hand sanitizer and spray Lysol consistently. North Carolina saw a spike in the illness starting in late January, and it has yet to taper off.

This flu season, the state has experienced 44 deaths from influenza-like illnesses. Almost a quarter of those occurred during the week of Feb. 12-18. Thirty-six of those 44 deaths were adults over the age of 50, and four deaths occurred in young people under 18 years of age, according to data from the N.C. Division of Public Health.

James Madson, director at the Beaufort County Health Department, said this area is experiencing a large number of cases of influenza-like illnesses in hospital emergency departments.

Madson said there are usually one or two people out of every 100 who come to the emergency room with flu-like symptoms. Recently, however, that number has risen to about 10 people out of every 100.

On Friday, Vidant Beaufort Hospital issued visitation restrictions for visitors, stating that only people 12 and older can visit patients in most cases at this time. Exceptions may include visiting a newborn sibling or visiting a loved one in hospice care, according to a press release.

“Vidant Health values family presence when loved ones are in the hospital. We also value protecting patients from being exposed to viruses such as the flu,” the release states. “Due to the high number of people with the flu in our community, we are temporarily changing our family presence and visitation practices for the patients’ safety as well as the safety of visitors.”

Madson offered simple tips to prevent contracting the flu: vaccination; washing hands; covering the mouth when coughing or sneezing.

“If you are sick, stay home from work and keep your kids home from school if they are sick, so it does not spread,” he said. “If you do become sick with the flu, there are antiviral medications you can speak about with your doctor.”