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By Richard Kerns
rkerns@newstribune.info
tribune staff writer
KEYSER — Mineral County School officials confirmed Monday that four young students were out of school with suspected swine flu.
Superintendent Skip Hackworth said three of the students attend Keyser Pre-K Headstart on Piedmont Street, and one attends New Creek Elementary School.
“We have had some unconfirmed cases,” Hackworth said Monday afternoon.
Hackworth said all four of the students were kept out of school Monday. While swine flu will not be confirmed until tests are returned in four to five days, the children's doctors reported that they believe the virus to be swine flu. “They're speculating that it's swine flu,” the superintendent said.
Hackworth urged parents not to be alarmed by the reports. Swine flu is spreading, he said, and was bound to find its way into the schools. He noted that a school in Jackson County, W.Va. had 20 percent of students out with the swine flu.
“We're trying to take precautions,” the superintendent said. “Are we going to keep it out of Mineral County schools? No.”
Hackworth said parents should continue to send their children to school. School officials from bus drivers to teachers are using an array of hand and other sanitizers to sterilize desks, chairs and buses in a bid to prevent the virus from spreading.
“Kids need to be in school,” he said. “We're monitoring this very closely.”
On the flip side, though, parents should keep their children home if they exhibit any signs of the flu, including fever or vomiting. The state superintendent of schools has directed school officials throughout West Virginia to maintain flexible attendance policies in the face of the outbreak, and Mineral County is heeding that advice.
“We're going to be very liberal on this...,” Hackworth said. “We don't want kids in school with the flu.”
By Richard Kerns
rkerns@newstribune.info
tribune staff writer
KEYSER — Mineral County School officials confirmed Monday that four young students were out of school with suspected swine flu.
Superintendent Skip Hackworth said three of the students attend Keyser Pre-K Headstart on Piedmont Street, and one attends New Creek Elementary School.
“We have had some unconfirmed cases,” Hackworth said Monday afternoon.
Hackworth said all four of the students were kept out of school Monday. While swine flu will not be confirmed until tests are returned in four to five days, the children's doctors reported that they believe the virus to be swine flu. “They're speculating that it's swine flu,” the superintendent said.
Hackworth urged parents not to be alarmed by the reports. Swine flu is spreading, he said, and was bound to find its way into the schools. He noted that a school in Jackson County, W.Va. had 20 percent of students out with the swine flu.
“We're trying to take precautions,” the superintendent said. “Are we going to keep it out of Mineral County schools? No.”
Hackworth said parents should continue to send their children to school. School officials from bus drivers to teachers are using an array of hand and other sanitizers to sterilize desks, chairs and buses in a bid to prevent the virus from spreading.
“Kids need to be in school,” he said. “We're monitoring this very closely.”
On the flip side, though, parents should keep their children home if they exhibit any signs of the flu, including fever or vomiting. The state superintendent of schools has directed school officials throughout West Virginia to maintain flexible attendance policies in the face of the outbreak, and Mineral County is heeding that advice.
“We're going to be very liberal on this...,” Hackworth said. “We don't want kids in school with the flu.”
