Friday 11 November 2022 06:50 PM Kansas elementary school shuts for three days and will 'disinfect the building' ... trends now
An elementary school in Kansas closed for three days this week after being struck by a surge of respiratory illnesses among students and staff.
Christ the King Catholic School, a K-8 school of 250 students and 21 teachers in Kansas City, Kansas, closed on Wednesday after more than 50 children and seven staff members reported illness.
Officials plan to disinfect the building during the days off. It is set to reopen on Monday.
It comes amid a nationwide surge of the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) that has struck young children the hardest.
Pediatric hospitals across the US are reporting that they are at or near capacity as the uptick of cases overwhelms emergency rooms.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 7,945 new RSV infections during the week that ended on November 5.
This is a massive upward shift from the less than 2,000 cases reported at the start of September.
Just over 1,300 cases of influenza were also reported nationwide that week — up from just a few hundred in August and the highest figure of this flu season so far.
The surge has caused dozens of schools across the country to temporary close due to staffing issues or to prevent further spread of the virus.
Experts had warned that this year's flu season would be harsher than years past after lockdowns during the pandemic left many people's immune systems ill-prepared.
These closures for the flu also echo the devastating school policies instituted during the early months of the pandemic.
Confirmed flu cases reached 13,806 during the week that ended on November 5, a new high for this season and sharp growth from previous weeks
Confirmed RSV cases reached 12,905 during the week that ended on October 29, while positive test rate reached 18.8 per cent the week ending on November 5
The CDC reports that 21 states are of 'high' or 'very high' flu activity, and six are suffering moderate activity
'With the high number of positive Influenza A and RSV cases among our faculty, staff, and students we will be disinfecting the building as well,' the school wrote on its Facebook page.
School officials told local news outlet KMBC they closed the school in anticipation of the illnesses further spreading.
Cathy Fithian, principle of the school, also said that staffing shortages played a role in the decision.
'If you can't staff your building and have teachers in the classrooms, you just can't have school,' she said.
This is not the first school to have to close due to surging flu cases.
The Brighton School in Baton Rouge, LA - a special school for dyslexic students - closed on October 25 due to surging respiratory illness cases.
Aquadale Elementary School and South Stanly Middle School, both just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, closed on October 25 and 26.
In Decatur, Alabama, near the state's northern border, Austinville Elementary School closed for a week from October 25 to October 31.
