Boston: 3 Schools closed due to flu

[Jeremy]

http://www.wickedlocal.com/allston/...NG-NEWS-Boston-Latin-School-closed-due-to-flu

Boston - The Boston Latin School will be closed until Wednesday, May 27 as a precaution after a significant rise in absences due to flu-like symptoms.

There were approximately 260 students absent today, which is about 60 more than yesterday, said a source familiar with the situation. On average there are about 80 students absent from the school that has a population of about 2400 students.

All families and staff have been notified of the school's closing via automated phone calls and letters home.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, Boston Public Health Commission officials, as well as Department of Public Health officials, were holding a joint meeting today to discuss how to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus, previously known as the swine flu.

 

[AlexanderSJones]

Health Officials: H1N1 Cases 'Likely' At School

Health Officials: H1N1 Cases 'Likely' At School

BOSTON -- Amid lingering fears of the H1N1 influenza virus, three local schools announced Tuesday that they would close after high numbers of students reported flu-like symptoms. Several of the sick students have been tested for H1N1, and health officials said it is likely that they will test positive for the virus.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/mostpopular/19501621/detail.html

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Boston: Boston Latin School closed due to flu

Re: Boston: Boston Latin School closed due to flu

Boston Latin, Horace Mann Schools Close Over Disease (Update2)

By Oliver Staley and Catherine Larkin
May 19 (Bloomberg) -- Boston Latin School, the oldest school in the U.S., and Horace Mann School, a private academy in New York, are among at least two dozen schools in the U.S. that were shut today or will close tomorrow because of outbreaks of disease.

Boston Latin, founded in 1635, will shut, starting tomorrow, and is expected to reopen May 27 after “unusually high levels of influenza-like illness,” Carol Johnson, superintendent of the Boston Public Schools, said in a statement today. Horace Mann, in the Bronx borough of New York City, will close tomorrow until May 26, the institution said on its Web site. Neither school has confirmed cases of swine flu.

Of the 24 schools closed in the U.S., 15 are in New York City, said Massie Ritsch, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Education, in an e-mail. At the peak of the swine flu outbreak two weeks ago, more than 725 schools in 30 states closed. At least 9,830 people worldwide have been infected in laboratory-confirmed cases, and 79 died, according to a World Health Organization report today.

Other closed schools include Dana Hall School, an all-girls private institution in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where 90 of 500 students stayed home, and St. David’s School, an all-boys elementary school on the Upper East Side of New York City’s Manhattan borough. Dana Hall is planning to reopen May 26, according to Liza Cohen, a spokeswoman. St. David’s will reopen May 21, according to its Web site.

‘Frustrated’ Parents

School outbreaks “have been a big feature” of the H1N1 epidemic, said Anne Schuchat, interim deputy director for the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Science and Public Health Program, during a conference call today with reporters.

“It’s understandable that parents are frustrated and are looking for ways to protect their children from flu and other infectious illnesses,” Schuchat said. “Even if a school is closed for an extended period of time, children are still susceptible to flu if they interact with other people, some of whom might be contagious even though they don’t have symptoms.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Oliver Staley in New York at ostaley@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: May 19, 2009 17:12 EDT

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a1VVMTGBF9NU&refer=worldwide