With flu cases in Illinois declining, Memorial Health System’s four hospitals, including Passavant Area Hospital in Jacksonville, have lifted their visitor restrictions.

For the safety of patients and their families, the hospitals in February limited inpatient hospital visits to two visitors per patient at one time and said visitors should be limited to people who are at least 18 years old and showed no sign of illness.

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

The other hospitals are Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Lincoln, Memorial Medical Center in Springfield and Taylorville Memorial Hospital.

Seasonal flu activity usually peaks in January and February, beginning as early as October and ending as late as May, according to the CDC website. As many as 20 percent of all Americans get the flu each year.