King William Schools closed Thursday, Friday due to high number of flu cases

KING WILLIAM Co., Va. (WWBT) - King William County Public Schools will be closed on Thursday and Friday due to a high number of confirmed and suspected flu cases within the division.

School staff will be cleaning and disinfecting all surfaces throughout the buildings and buses during those two days.

“Everybody was talking about it,” 10th grader Aiden Schools said. He noticed fewer students showing up at his high school. “Classes were empty. You could tell, even in the hallways too.”

Wednesday, nearly 300 students were absent from class across the district. Perhaps for good reason, the Superintendent says there are 187 confirmed and suspected cases of the flu at the schools there. Wednesday, 39 students had to be sent home and 36 teachers stayed home.

School leaders say they want anyone who is sick to get well before they return.

“I think it’s a great idea," said Ann Scott, a nurse practitioner. She says this is a good time to remind people what you can do to fight the flu. “Hygiene, with washing hands is very important...People who haven’t gotten a flu shot yet should run to get one."

“I think it’s good that they would take the time to get everything straight," Akers added.

The school district says to look out for these symptoms:

Temperature of 100 degrees or higher within the last 24 hours (must be fever free for full 24 hours without the use of Tylenol or Motrin before returning to school)
Diarrhea and/or vomiting within the last 24 hours
Severe cough
Severe cold, especially with greenish/yellow nasal drainage
Undetermined rash (requires doctor’s note indicating it is not contagious in order to return to school)
Sore throat and/or difficulty swallowing (must be on antibiotics 24 hours before returning to school with strep throat)
Red, watery, burning, itching eyes or yellowish drainage (Pink eye must be treated for 24 hours before returning to school.)

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