Flu season has struck early, with high numbers of individuals experiencing flu-like symptoms throughout central Illinois, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

For the safety of patients and their families, Memorial Health System is recommending visitors to its three hospitals — Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Lincoln and Taylorville Memorial Hospital in Taylorville —help prevent the spread of respiratory infections by requesting that:

• Inpatient hospital visits be limited to two visitors per patient at one time;
• All visitors be 18 or older and show no signs of illness.

The health system also encourages those accompanying outpatients at Memorial facilities to consider these same recommendations.

Additionally, the following upcoming youth events held on the Memorial Medical Center campus have been canceled:

• Friends of Memorial Babysitters Clinic on Jan. 19.
• ‘I’m Going to be a Big Brother/ Sister’ class on Jan. 20.
• CPR for Babysitters on Jan. 26.
• Memorial Explorer Post 1897 meeting on Jan. 31.

To prevent spread of the flu, the CDC recommends individuals take precautions to avoid spread of germs, such as washing your hands thoroughly and often with soap and water, covering your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough, and getting your annual flu vaccination (available to those 6 months and older).

For additional information about the flu, including symptoms and prevention, visit the CDC website. Answers to frequently asked questions regarding the flu can be found on Memorial’s Live Well blog, LiveWellMagazine.org.