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All campuses of the DeLeon schools were
closed Thursday, February 7, and Friday, February 8, due to high
absenteeism from illness.
“We were averaging 12 to 15 percent in
absences for the past two or three weeks, with students out sick,”
said Dr. Mohundro, DISD superintendent. “We just couldn’t seem to
shake it, and then it started effecting the teaching staff . We had 12
teachers out on Wednesday, February 6.”
Mohundro said that the decision to close
the schools for two days was made at around 3 p.m. that day.
“The Texas Department of Health called,”
Dr. Mohundro said, “and they were not surprised. They’d been
monitoring the influenza rate in Texas, and they said we took the best
course of action.”
In a note posted on the DISD website, Dr.
Mohundro said that the school closure was due to the number of
absences caused by the large volume of cases of “flu, viruses, and
other illnesses.”
The website for the Texas Department of
State Health Services reports that the influenza activity level for
Texas is “widespread” and that as of the week ending February 2,
schools in Dallam, Henderson, Smith and Travis counties had also seen
closure due to an “influenza-like” illness.
The website also gives a clear definition
of the difference between the flu and a cold: “The flu and the common
cold are both respiratory illnesses, but they are caused by different
viruses. Unlike flu, the common cold comes on gradually, rarely causes
fever and is usually limited to a sore throat, coughing, sneezing and
a stuffy, runny nose. In general, the flu is worse than the common
cold. Symptoms such as fever, body aches, sore throat extreme
tiredness and dry cough are more common and intense and come on more
suddenly.
Colds generally do not result in serious
health problems such as pneumonia, bacterial infections or
hospitalizations.” It was noted that young children may also suffer
with an ear infection, nausea or vomiting, and that the youngest may
even develop high fevers and seizures.
Monday, February 11, the superintendent’s
office reported that DISD student attendance numbers were “much, much
better” and that the teachers were all back at work. |
