Re: Seven Year Old Dies From A/H1N1 in Whitfield County
http://www.daltondailycitizen.com/local/local_story_274201219.html
School plans activities to remember student
Rachel Brown
Maribel Hernandez said her daughter and niece cried Wednesday after learning a girl in their second-grade class at City Park School died that morning.
Hernandez?s daughter, Ashly Ayala, had to stay out of school because of the flu.
?It?s so close ? in my child?s classroom,? Hernandez said. ?You think about it, it could have been your child. It?s really sad.?
City Park School will have activities of some sort to remember student Candy Chen, but the date and details haven?t been decided, officials said Thursday. Candy, a second-grader, had attended the school since kindergarten.
Principal Rick Little said school officials couldn?t comment on the child?s medical information. North Georgia Health District spokeswoman Jennifer Moorer said a 7-year-old girl from Whitfield County died from swine flu, or H1N1, Wednesday.
Little said Candy has a sibling who also attended the school.
Three additional counselors were at City Park Thursday after students were informed of Candy?s death late Wednesday afternoon, and the counselors will be available again Friday, officials said.
?We have had both staff and students take advantage of that,? said school system spokeswoman Deana Farmer. ?For those who need it, they are self-selecting and being offered counseling services as needed. We do have students who knew Candy and are going through the grieving process, and we are trying to help with that.?
Little said there were many news organizations at the school, but Thursday was otherwise fairly normal. He said he hadn?t spoken with the family on Thursday, and he said the school received only a few calls from parents who had inquiries.
?Everybody here is still very focused on the family and thoughts about them and helping them get through this,? he said. ?We?re trying to keep the school as normal as possible because we?re dealing with a lot of other children, too.?
Farmer said about 10 percent of students were absent at City Park on Thursday, the same number absent as on Wednesday. The school has 735 students.
Of the 6,990 students district-wide, about 6 percent were absent on Monday, she said, but that number had increased to about 7 percent by Thursday.
Many of the absences are attributed to flu symptoms. Officials with Dalton Public Schools, Whitfield County Schools and Murray County Schools have all reported students out with flu symptoms. As of September, more than 99 percent of flu viruses circulating in the United States were H1N1, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hernandez said her daughter was diagnosed with seasonal flu. She said her daughter received medication and her fever is gone, but she will stay home for a few days to recover.
She said she appreciates the way the school handled the situation, informing parents of Candy?s death in a letter sent home with students the same day.
Moorer said those who believe they have the flu should call a doctor for advice rather than rushing out for a doctor visit or to the emergency room. For most people, a doctor visit isn?t necessary unless they sustain a fever of 102 degrees or greater for more than 24 hours, she said.
