Updated Sept. 8, 2009

Currently Sumner County Schools is seeing several clinically diagnosed cases of H1N1 scattered across the county. The Center for Disease Control is now advising doctors to clinically diagnose H1N1 and not send testing for final confirmation. We are beginning to see one or more cases of clinically diagnosed H1N1 in just a little over half of our schools.

The school system continues on a daily basis to thoroughly clean our schools using products and procedures recommended by the Center for Disease Control. Teachers continue to emphasize hand washing, the use of hand sanitizer, and proper hygiene in order to minimize the spread of germs. Parents/Guardians are urged to continue this emphasis at home.

Our Director of Schools Benny Bills recently attended a statewide partnership meeting of directors and county executives from across the state and the Tennessee Department of Health to discuss short term and long term plans regarding addressing H1N1 in our schools and the general public.

Our local and state health departments remind us to encourage parents to keep their children at home if they are indeed sick. Schools and teachers will work with students to make up school work they miss when absent. Staying at home while sick will help limit the spread of illness at school. School attendance policies regarding excused absences will still be in effect.

At this time, the CDC and our state health department advise us that closing schools for illness would best be considered only when there are “extenuating circumstances” such as a great many students being ill or most teachers being absent from school. As the days and weeks progress into fall and winter, the school system will, of course, be monitoring carefully both student and adult attendance at school.

If further information needs to be shared with the public from the schools, we will, of course, do so. Thank you for your continued interest in this health concern for all of our citizenry, particularly our school age children.