The health authorities said influenza has passed its peak but is still dangerous, urging people to observe rules to prevent respiratory illnesses during the Lunar New Year holiday.

The Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Friday that influenza has passed its peak, declining for two consecutive weeks. However, it is still above the epidemic threshold, prompting people to take precautions against respiratory infectious diseases during the upcoming holiday

According to the KDCA, the influenza case-fatality rate in hospital-level medical institutions during the third week of 2025 (Jan. 12-18) was 57.7 per 1,000 outpatients, a 33.0 percent drop from 86.1 the previous week but is still significantly higher than the seasonal epidemic threshold of 8.6.

By age group, the highest rate was 103.9 among those aged 7 to 12, followed by 88.6 among those aged 13 to 18 and 76.2 among those aged 1 to 6.

The number of hospitalized influenza patients in hospital-level medical institutions was 1,235 in the third week of 2025, down 24.1 percent from 1,627 in the previous week. This is lower than before the Covid-19 pandemic but still higher than the same period last year.

Against this backdrop, KDCA held a meeting with organizations with facilities vulnerable to infections and a meeting of provincial and municipal health directors to share trends in respiratory infectious disease outbreaks, including influenza, ahead of the holiday and to check the preparedness to respond to infectious diseases during the period.

“As influenza is still highly prevalent, KDCA will continue to closely monitor the epidemic of influenza and other respiratory infectious diseases during the Lunar New Year holidays and do its best to prevent, manage, and respond to respiratory infectious diseases,” KDCA Commissioner Jee Young-mee said.