One of the biggest flu seasons in years, is likely to drag on well into spring as hospitals and GP clinics continue to see high case numbers

ESR surveillance showed weekly hospitalisations of people with severe acute respiratory illness in Auckland, are still tracking far higher than the 2015-2019 average.

At the peak late last month, there were 125 hospital cases in the region in one week -- with that number since easing slightly to just over a hundred.

College of GPs medical director Luke Bradford says they're also still busy dealing with cases - with the South Island particularly hard hit.