A major flu outbreak has prompted officials of the Cascade School District to close the schools in the central Idaho community until next Monday.
District Superintendent Pal Sartori said “The kids here have been battling the flu for over two weeks. But this week was really bad. About twenty percent of our students stayed home sick with the flu yesterday; another ten to fifteen percent of students who came to school were experiencing flu symptoms, stating they didn’t feel well or were sick.”
Sartori says he met with the school board Wednesday and the decision was made to initiate an emergency school closure and cancel classes until Monday.
The District also canceled a number of scheduled events including basketball games, a homecoming dance, and several elementary school activities.
Sartori said custodial staff sanitizes the school’s handrails and doorknobs daily. “But now were wiping down everything,” he said. “The staff will spend the next two days sanitizing all the desks, chairs, computers, keyboards, and screens in the classrooms as thoroughly as possible.”
“Our clinic here in Cascade tells me they have never seen a flu outbreak this extensive,” he pointed out.
