SBCSS News and Press Releases

Four More County Schools Dismiss Students To Prevent Spread Of Flu

2009-05-04

SAN BERNARDINO - Because of new individual probable outbreaks of the swine flu, four more San Bernardino County schools in two districts announced today that they will dismiss their students for the remainder of this week.

The four schools - Lytle Creek and Barton elementaries and Shandin Hills Middle in the San Bernardino City Unified School District and Ruth O. Harris Middle in the Colton Joint Unified School District - will dismiss their students until May 11.

There are now six schools in the county with students who will be out of session as a preventative measure to spreading the H1N1 virus, in advisement from the County Department of Health. Earlier, Cole Elementary in San Bernardino City Unified and Clement Middle in Redlands Unified announced they would have students dismissed as a precautionary measure until May 11.

"These are difficult decisions for schools to make, and I applaud their efforts, along with the families and communities involved, to do what is in the best interests of our students," County Superintendent Gary Thomas said.

County Department of Public Health officials said Monday that there are five confirmed cases of people infected with the H1N1 virus in the county.

Officials also said that close to 95 percent of the probable infections so far have turned out to test positive for the H1N1 virus.

Students, families and school staff should take the following normal precautions to prevent the flu and spread of the illness to others:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners also are effective.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• For those who get sick, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth as germs spread that way.

To help alleviate overcrowding at hospitals and health clinics, the Department of Public Health is emphasizing that there is no need for individuals who are not experiencing flu symptoms to seek medical attention. Medical facilities are reporting that families are bringing healthy children to clinics and hospitals to be "screened" for H1N1. There is no screening for the H1N1 virus and unless an individual is experiencing flu symptoms, there is no need to be tested.

If parents have questions, the California Department of Public Health has established a toll free H1N1 hotline: 1-888-865-0564.

To access information to distribute to staff, parents and students, visit the County Schools' Web section on the swine flu at http://www.sbcss.k12.ca.us. There are links to information and resources available from the California Department of Education, Department of Public Health and the Center of Disease Control.