FORT PIERCE — With the start of school just weeks away, school and health officials on the Treasure Coast want parents to know they are prepared for swine flu and will coordinate efforts to prevent its spread through the public schools.

They also ask that parents and students follow this simple advice to help: “If you’re sick, stay home,” said Larry Lee, administrator of the St. Lucie County Health Department.

School and health officials announced their efforts at a joint press conference today at the St. Lucie County School District offices in Fort Pierce. They noted that public schools in St. Lucie, Martin, Indian River and Okeechobee counties have about 83,000 students about 300,000 family members.
With frequent travel in the four-county region, they agreed to cooperate in controlling the spread of H1N1 virus.

Procedures at all four school districts will be similar, as will information released about the virus. No mass testing will be done; children with flu-like symptoms will be assumed to have swine flu, kept in insolation rooms and sent home as quickly as possible.

Sick children should stay out of school until the virus has run its course, usually five to seven days, and until 24 hours have passed since the cessation of fever.

Everyone will be encouraged to practice good hygiene by washing hands and using hand sanitizer.

“Our goal is to keep schools open,” said St. Lucie County Schools Superintendent Michael Lannon.

Swine flu, similar in nature to seasonal flu, is spread through respiratory droplets. Pregnant women and those with chronic health conditions, such as autoimmune diseases and respiratory illnesses, are at a higher risk for the illness. Children, though not considered a high-risk group, have been affected in greater numbers by swine flu.

Tags: Indian River County, Martin County, Okeechobee County, St. Lucie County

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 13th, 2009 at 6:14 pm and is filed under Community events, Health, Indian River County, Martin County, Okeechobee, Schools, St. Lucie County. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.