Flu is on the rise in New Jersey a few weeks earlier than last year, leading more patients to seek care at the emergency room and prompting some hospitals to impose mandatory masking.

The number of reported infections is still relatively low, with just over 100 patients being admitted to a New Jersey hospital with a respiratory illness in the last week of November, according to the latest state Health Department data .

But the last two weeks of November saw the number of flu patients seeking care rise sharply, the data shows. It's too early to tell whether or not that leads to a worse flu season, experts say. Infections aren't expected to peak until after the holiday season when increased travel and gatherings allow for more transmission.

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