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Chavez school closing temporarily due to suspected swine-flu outbreak
BRIAN NEWSOME
2009-09-16 18:59:13
Cesar Chavez Academy of Colorado Springs closed Thursday afternoon with nearly 55 percent of its students and nine of its teachers absent in an apparent H1N1 outbreak, a spokesman said.
Jose Garcia, a board member and spokesperson for the school, said Chavez is scheduled to reopen on Wednesday. He said 123 of the 231 students were absent Thursday, 87 of them with flu-like symptoms. Many of the others, he said, were likely kept home from school as a precaution.
Nine teachers were out sick Thursday, he said.
In a news release Thursday, the school said the decision to close the school was "not made lightly and is in the best interest of the safety and well-being of our students."
"The school will be cleaned and disinfected during this time in order to be proactive and effectively reduce the spread of illness," the news release said.
On Wednesday, 86 of the school's 231 students were absent with flu-like symptoms, up from 52 on Monday. Five teachers were out Wednesday.
Seasonal flu has not yet shown up for the year, according to health officials, so any cases of influenza are presumed to be H1N1.
The school is just one example of a spike in H1N1 activity in advance of the usual flu season. Memorial Hospital has been seeing 20 to 30 people with flu-like symptoms a day in its emergency department, said spokesman Chris Valentine. The hospital has designated a special waiting area and beds for people suspected of having the flu in response to the numbers.
Most people recover from the pandemic flu, informally known as swine flu, without treatment. Still, it has caused serious complications for some people, such as pregnant women and school-aged children.
An H1N1 vaccine was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but it has not yet arrived in Colorado Springs. Health officials urge people to wash their hands, cover coughs and sneezes, and stay home when they are sick until they are without a fever for 24 hours without help from medication.
BRIAN NEWSOME
2009-09-16 18:59:13
Cesar Chavez Academy of Colorado Springs closed Thursday afternoon with nearly 55 percent of its students and nine of its teachers absent in an apparent H1N1 outbreak, a spokesman said.
Jose Garcia, a board member and spokesperson for the school, said Chavez is scheduled to reopen on Wednesday. He said 123 of the 231 students were absent Thursday, 87 of them with flu-like symptoms. Many of the others, he said, were likely kept home from school as a precaution.
Nine teachers were out sick Thursday, he said.
In a news release Thursday, the school said the decision to close the school was "not made lightly and is in the best interest of the safety and well-being of our students."
"The school will be cleaned and disinfected during this time in order to be proactive and effectively reduce the spread of illness," the news release said.
On Wednesday, 86 of the school's 231 students were absent with flu-like symptoms, up from 52 on Monday. Five teachers were out Wednesday.
Seasonal flu has not yet shown up for the year, according to health officials, so any cases of influenza are presumed to be H1N1.
The school is just one example of a spike in H1N1 activity in advance of the usual flu season. Memorial Hospital has been seeing 20 to 30 people with flu-like symptoms a day in its emergency department, said spokesman Chris Valentine. The hospital has designated a special waiting area and beds for people suspected of having the flu in response to the numbers.
Most people recover from the pandemic flu, informally known as swine flu, without treatment. Still, it has caused serious complications for some people, such as pregnant women and school-aged children.
An H1N1 vaccine was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but it has not yet arrived in Colorado Springs. Health officials urge people to wash their hands, cover coughs and sneezes, and stay home when they are sick until they are without a fever for 24 hours without help from medication.
