A number of schools across the USA are planning to reopen today after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidance saying there is no need to close if they have students with H1N1 influenza, also called swine flu.
The new advice, unveiled Tuesday by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, comes as more than 700 schools in 24 states and the District of Columbia remained closed because of concerns of spreading illness. The closed schools enroll a combined 468,000 students. Last week's advice from the CDC, that schools close for up to two weeks if they had infected students, was superseded by new information about the mildness of the virus and the fact that in areas where it's in schools, it's also in communities, so closing schools doesn't affect its spread, Sebelius says.
1st AMERICAN DEATH: Swine flu claims teacher in Texas
TAMIFLU: Resistance feared
INTERACTIVE MAPS: Tracking the global, U.S. spread of virus
The CDC is still asking students and teachers who are diagnosed with the flu to stay at home for seven days so they don't transmit the virus.
News of the revised guidelines came as state officials said a Texas woman who died this week was infected with H1N1. She is the first U.S. resident whose death has been linked to the virus.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: United States Texas Canada Houston Mexico Spain England San Antonio World Health Organization Swine flu Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Kathleen Sebelius Independent washington, d.c. United States Department of State United States Department of Health and Human Services Universal City Queens Cameron County
The woman was in her 30s and lived near the Mexican border, although there is no indication she had traveled to Mexico recently, says Doug McBride of the Texas Department of State Health Services. She had underlying health conditions, McBride says.
A boy from Mexico City who was visiting Houston died there last week but was believed to have caught the flu in Mexico.
Twenty-one countries have reported 1,490 cases of H1N1, the World Health Organization says. Mexico has the largest number, with 822 cases and 29 deaths. The USA is next with 403 confirmed cases in 38 states, the CDC says.
Now that the CDC has revised its advice on school closures, most will be able to get back into business quickly, says Daniel Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators. "The bigger problem may be … schools that made the commitment that they were going to be closed 14 days. (There's) the possibility that some of the teachers may have scattered."
In Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District near San Antonio, officials late Tuesday were working to reopen their 13 schools, all of which have been closed since April 27.
Spokeswoman Rebecca Villarreal said officials were still getting in touch with employees and students: "We're just trying to round them up."
She said they were still trying to get all the bus drivers to run morning routes and ensure that there's enough food to feed returning students. "There are a lot of challenges. It's a lot easier to close the schools than to reopen them."
The new advice, unveiled Tuesday by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, comes as more than 700 schools in 24 states and the District of Columbia remained closed because of concerns of spreading illness. The closed schools enroll a combined 468,000 students. Last week's advice from the CDC, that schools close for up to two weeks if they had infected students, was superseded by new information about the mildness of the virus and the fact that in areas where it's in schools, it's also in communities, so closing schools doesn't affect its spread, Sebelius says.
1st AMERICAN DEATH: Swine flu claims teacher in Texas
TAMIFLU: Resistance feared
INTERACTIVE MAPS: Tracking the global, U.S. spread of virus
The CDC is still asking students and teachers who are diagnosed with the flu to stay at home for seven days so they don't transmit the virus.
News of the revised guidelines came as state officials said a Texas woman who died this week was infected with H1N1. She is the first U.S. resident whose death has been linked to the virus.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: United States Texas Canada Houston Mexico Spain England San Antonio World Health Organization Swine flu Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Kathleen Sebelius Independent washington, d.c. United States Department of State United States Department of Health and Human Services Universal City Queens Cameron County
The woman was in her 30s and lived near the Mexican border, although there is no indication she had traveled to Mexico recently, says Doug McBride of the Texas Department of State Health Services. She had underlying health conditions, McBride says.
A boy from Mexico City who was visiting Houston died there last week but was believed to have caught the flu in Mexico.
Twenty-one countries have reported 1,490 cases of H1N1, the World Health Organization says. Mexico has the largest number, with 822 cases and 29 deaths. The USA is next with 403 confirmed cases in 38 states, the CDC says.
Now that the CDC has revised its advice on school closures, most will be able to get back into business quickly, says Daniel Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators. "The bigger problem may be … schools that made the commitment that they were going to be closed 14 days. (There's) the possibility that some of the teachers may have scattered."
In Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District near San Antonio, officials late Tuesday were working to reopen their 13 schools, all of which have been closed since April 27.
Spokeswoman Rebecca Villarreal said officials were still getting in touch with employees and students: "We're just trying to round them up."
She said they were still trying to get all the bus drivers to run morning routes and ensure that there's enough food to feed returning students. "There are a lot of challenges. It's a lot easier to close the schools than to reopen them."
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment