Lucas County Health Commissioner David Grossman said he'll be at Clay High School tonight to answer questions about the swine flu, but he's hoping parent meetings at other schools will be unnecessary.
"My concern is that even with all the talking and all the preparation, we still have the overreacting," Dr. Grossman said yesterday. "It is a flu. It's a novel flu and thank goodness we have a vaccine on the horizon. I think we'll limit the spread, and there is an end in sight versus a pandemic flu that we don't have a vaccine for."
Oregon City Schools confirmed yesterday that
two students at Fassett Middle School - a sixth grader and an eighth grader - had tested positive for the swine flu virus, also known as H1N1. The district was the first in the Toledo area to report confirmed cases of the flu, although all districts are seeing some absences of students with flu-like symptoms.
Jim Fritz, assistant superintendent in the Anthony Wayne Local Schools, said the district notified the health department Monday about a "potential cluster" of flu cases at Monclova Primary School where five students from the same classroom were out ill.
"We have not confirmed that they all have flu-like symptoms," he said, adding, "If you were to look at attendance, you may have kids out for symptoms similar to the flu or just ill. On any given day, you may have more than five kids out of a classroom."
....
In Oregon, parents of Fassett students were notified by letter about both cases of swine flu but were told that if more cases are reported, notices will not be sent out. That upset some parents like Windy Mills, who said she was ready to pull her seventh grader out of Fassett shortly after learning of the first case on Friday.
"As parents we have a right to know," she said. "What if there are 20 more cases? If there are 20 more cases, my kid isn't going to school.
"I understand they don't want a panic and don't want everyone to get their kids out of school, but if there's a reason to panic, we need to know."
Oregon Superintendent Michael Zalar said if there is a reason to panic, parents certainly will be informed. Still, he said he does not believe it's necessary to send a letter home every time a child tests positive for swine flu.
"It's the flu and we're not going to send a letter anytime somebody gets the flu," Mr. Zalar said. "We're in communication with the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department and if concern grows to the point where there's a cluster or an outbreak that they consider to be serious, then we will address those concerns at that point in time in the future
....
At St. John's Jesuit High School, Principal Brad Bonham said teachers were told before the school year began to create a four-week online instruction plan that could be deployed in case the school had to close due to a flu outbreak.
"We want to be able to continue the education, continue the learning," he said. "We didn't want it to just be a four-week vacation."
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