County officials shuttered Rucker Elementary School until at
least Monday after seven students showed severe flu-like
symptoms.
”
High priority
”
test samples from at least one of the students are being
examined and results are expected today, officials said.
County officials shuttered Rucker Elementary School until at least Monday after seven students showed severe flu-like symptoms. “High priority” test samples from at least one of the students are being examined and results are expected today, officials said.
The Santa Clara County Public Health Department’s precautionary closure is the first in Gilroy and the sixth in the county, and will last until officials evaluate a strain taken from one sick student Tuesday morning at Saint Louise Regional Hospital, school district officials said. The results should have been in Thursday, but the initial swab analysis was inconclusive and had to be retaken, and county officials thus labeled the suspected sample a “high priority” Thursday, said Molly Carbajal, a health department spokesperson.
County scientists were still analyzing the sample Thursday evening to determine if it is a “probable” case. If it is, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must confirm it, Carbajal said. Saint Louise representatives refused to comment, and Gilroy Unified School District officials urged calm during the waiting game.
“Give us time to get the results … We don’t want people panicking,” said Superintendent Debbie Flores, whose son is a fifth grader at Rucker, which serves a rural population of about 640 primarily Hispanic students in northern Gilroy.
The seven sick students there were mostly fourth graders but included at least one first grader, according to Rucker Principal Barbara Keesaw, who said “a couple” of students’ families visited Mexico during spring break two weeks ago. Aside from the one student tested at Saint Louise whose 13-year-old brother attends a school outside Gilroy’s district, Flores said she did not know if the other five children had seen doctors. After sending those students home, though, teachers did forward their names to the county, and the school district is being “vigilant” and following up with their families, Flores said.
“We didn’t decide to close (Tuesday or Wednesday) because there were just one or two cases. We still don’t have an identified case and still have no idea when county results will come in,” Flores said Thursday evening.
The closure will not affect state standardized testing, which will resume when the school reopens, Flores said.
Federal health officials believe the flu, which regularly affects pigs but rarely humans, originated in Mexico, and they are concerned because it is a new virus for which people have little or no immunity and no vaccine. Responding to the virus’ rapid spread, the World Health Organization’s director-general, Margaret Chan, raised the organization’s alert level Wednesday, signifying that a flu pandemic was imminent.
When Rucker closed at its normal time Thursday – an hour or so after the county decided to close the school – Melissa Valdez, who takes care of a first grader after school, said she thought the health department should shut down the whole school district, which serves about 10,000 students. She also questioned the prudence of closing just one school, whose students are bused in from different areas in and around Gilroy – unlike other neighborhood schools.
“These are not just the country kids. These are kids from all around Gilroy,” Valdez said as she held a bright pink letter that Flores wrote to guardians about the closing.
Lisa Muzzio appreciated the prompt notifications and advice from the school district – which reportedly bought up all the hand sanitizer at Costco Thursday afternoon – but she said she would stay calm, continue to practice common sense hygiene and encourage her sons in fifth and second grade to do the same.
“I’m not going to panic. There’s no sense to that,” Muzzio said.
Some residents have voiced concern about the 100 migrant families moving into the Arturo Ochoa Migrant Farmworker Center off Arizona Circle in southeast Gilroy today. Some are coming from Texas and most typically work fields near the Mexican border. Of the 260 or so people expected to arrive, about 100 will be children who will enter district schools until summer vacation, according to a camp employee.
Neither the school district nor the county will take any special precautions to anticipate the influx of new students, but the county has been in contact with the Gilroy camp, which is one of 25 state-subsidized living quarters and the only such camp in Santa Clara County. Gardner Family Health Network also has a mobile clinic that regularly visits the seasonal quarters. CEO Reymundo Espinoza said he was aware of the camp’s impending opening, but like many other health professionals, he said there was nothing to do until someone sought help. There will be no screening.
“We’re going to see whoever requests themselves,” Espinoza said.
Councilman Perry Woodward is down in Mexico with his wife and two young children in Cabo San Lucas, which sits at the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula. The professional pilot with a private plane housed in San Martin took a commercial flight to Mexico Monday before the CDC issued travel precautions, and he said Wednesday people “were still partying,” but in thinner crowds than usual.
Down in Mexico City, Gilroy High School teacher Gretchen Yoder-Schrock is on a Fulbright exchange, but her life and those of her two kids “have been radically altered” after schools across the country closed April 24. She washes her hands about 30 times a day, but there’s not a lot to do – concerts and other public events in Mexico City are canceled, restaurants only sell food to go, and movie theaters, gyms, and pools are closed.
“Its been nearly a week that we’ve been cooped up but we are staying entertained,” Yoder-Schrock wrote in an e-mail. “Thank goodness for the Internet!”
Staff writer Sara Suddes contributed to this story.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
-“Give us time to get the results. We don’t want people panicking.” – GUSD Superintendent Debbie Flores
-“In hindsight, I should’ve taken my plane.” – Councilman Perry Woodward, a pilot speaking from Mexico about his impending commercial plane trip home
-“Right now we’re treating this as a suspected case.” – County health department spokesperson Molly Carbajal talking about one of seven Rucker students who have flu-like symptoms
-“I’m not going to panic. There’s no sense to that.” – Lisa Muzzio, mother of two Rucker students
Masks: What to look for
-According to a Consumer Reports blog (blogs.consumerreports.org/health), wearing a mask “makes sense” for people who are likely to be exposed to the virus, such as someone caring for a sick person.
-Consumer Reports advises looking for a mask labeled N-95 or higher, which means it has been cleared by the FDA. If you choose to wear a mask, it should fit tightly over your nose and mouth with no gaps. For the most effectiveness, masks need to be worn as long as you’re in a high risk situation and replaced after each use.
-Masks are no replacement for other preventative measures, such as frequent and vigorous hand washing.
Prevention tips
-Wash hands frequently
-Cover your mouth when you cough
-Avoid close contact with sick people
-Stay home from school or work if you are sick
-Eat healthy
-Get adequate sleep each night
-Drink plenty of fluids
-Exercise
BY THE NUMBERS
-6 ‘probable’ swine flu cases in the county, none confirmed
-99 samples tested in county, including Gilroy’s “suspected” case
-19 confirmed cases in California
-1 death in Texas
-13 countries affected
-120 confirmed cases in 17 states
-168 deaths linked to swine flu in Mexico
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, Santa Clara County Public Health Department
