NEW YORK, NY June 12, 2009 —Newly released figures confirm that people are still visiting emergency rooms with complaints of flu-like illness. But numbers have dropped sharply from the peak a couple weeks ago, and almost no one is being admitted to the hospital with severe illness. WNYC’s Fred Mogul has more.

The flu continues to be mild in all but a handful of people. But a 16th person has died, someone who was in his or her 40s. Health officials are giving almost no information about patients, citing privacy. They’re emphasizing that most of the people who’ve gotten severely ill or died had "underlying conditions," though yesterday Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley acknowledged, "Influenza is sometimes fatal in otherwise healthy people."

Twelve of the 16 people who died had an underlying condition, but four did not. Those four were all reportedly obese, which may be a complicating factor. For WNYC, I’m Fred Mogul.

The Health Department also released updated figures on what are now nearly 600 people, ill enough to be admitted to the hospital. Their median age is 26, and 8 in 10 have an underlying condition. The most common risk factor has been asthma, and others include diabetes, heart disease, compromised immune system and pregnancy.