Sayre school stays open amid flu worries

[Kevin Latham]

Sayre schools deal with H1N1 flu. This from NewsOK.com:

SAYRE — Sayre High School remained open Thursday while a quarter of the students were absent with flu-like symptoms. Superintendent Todd Winn said the school has had 40 to 45 absences daily since Tuesday. Nearly 190 students attend the Beckham County school. The absence rate was normal on Friday when administrators found out some students were being tested for flu. Winn said school officials have worked closely with the county’s health department and local doctors. Some parents of students tested for influenza Type A opted to have their children tested for swine flu, also known as H1N1, and doctors sent samples away for testing, he said. Those results came back positive, Winn said.

"We were told then that we need to assume that anyone with Type A has H1N1,” Winn said. "We’ve done a lot of extra cleaning.”

Students have done a good job of telling teachers and administrators that they feel sick, he said.

Students then are isolated until they can be sent home.

A few cases have been reported at the elementary school, Winn said. The district has 690 students in grades kindergarten through 12.

Lori Herring, assistant director for the chamber of commerce, said businesses across Sayre seem to be operating as usual and not reporting a lot of absence because of flu.

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