— Duke University students camping out in Krzyzewskiville for basketball tickets have been given a reprieve from the weeks-long event due to an outbreak of the flu, according to university officials.

The school reported several new cases of the flu among students recently, though they are not limited to the campground, Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said in an email to students and families.

"We have identified some students from K-Ville with the flu and we’ve elected to take a cautious approach with K-Ville," Moneta said in the email shared with WRAL News. "The continued high level activity of this flu season is consistent with the severe seasons of 2009 and 2014. While the virus is not more inherently infectious than average, it’s making its way to a lot more people."

Moneta said school officials will evaluate conditions daily and hope to reopen K-ville as soon as possible.

Students in Krzyzewskiville are "on grace" from staying overnight in their tents, which gives them an opportunity to get tickets to the Blue Devils' game against the rival Tar Heels. Duke hosts the Heels in Durham on March 3.

Freshman Charlie Gelman said he decided to camp out because he wants to be on the front row for the rivalry showdown.

"I decided to tent because Duke basketball is one of the main reasons I came here," Gelman said. "It's nice not having to sleep there, but it also kind of sucks because this is a tradition, having a bunch of people there."

Gelman said no one in his tent has gotten ill.

"I've gotten a stuffy nose and a little congested, but other than that, I've been fine," he said. "I don't know how severe the flu epidemic is, but if it's that big a deal, it's a pretty good call."

Rules of the ticket lottery require that one person must always be with the tent, around the clock, except when the temperatures drop below 25 degrees. Then, students can leave and find warmer accommodations.

"It's actually not that bad. I'm a pretty sound sleeper," Gelman said of the overall tenting experience. "It kind of hurts your back, sleeping on the pallets."

The outbreak at Duke mirrors a larger trend across North Carolina and the country. Nurses in UNC Rex Healthcare's Emergency Department wore masks on Monday as doctors said there saw nearly 900 confirmed flu cases in January.

Officials at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center said they had more than 600 flu cases in January, and WakeMed had about 1,200 cases last month. Duke Hospital and Durham Regional counted 41 cases last week.

State health officials say 95 people have died from the flu in North Carolina so far this season, with 20 of those deaths being reported in the last week.

Duke students could get flu shots during the flu clinic that had extra nurses on Thursday.