Health Dept, School Officials Collaborated

On Reed Closing Decision

By John Voket

Contrary to an initial posting on the Newtown School District’s website last weekend inferring the temporary cancellation of classes at the Reed Intermediate School was initiated by the Newtown Health District after a flu outbreak there, Health Director Donna Culbert told The Bee Tuesday that it was a collaborative decision that unfolded on Friday and Saturday morning after several phone conferences, which included the school nursing supervisor, the health district medical advisor, and Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson.

Dr Robinson said she made the final decision to cancel classes at the intermediate school from Monday to Wednesday — most of the final week of the school year — and used an automated telephone notification system that dispatched the message to affected households to that effect late Saturday afternoon, June 19.

A half-day of classes for the final day of school commenced Thursday morning, which also provided an opportunity for students to clean out desks and lockers, as well as socialize before the summer break.

Responding to questions about the sequence of events and communications among officials about the closing this week, Ms Culbert said she was in the dark about when the announcement to close the school was being made until she heard about social networking posts on Facebook referring to phone messages parents received about the school closing the night before.

Ms Culbert said after leaving a message for Dr Robinson asking about the timing of the school closing notification and offering help in drafting the announcement, the health director was not re-contacted by the superintendent until after the district office opened Monday morning — a fact that was confirmed by Dr Robinson.

“I bet she was pretty darn busy,” Ms Culbert said. “But there’s always been an understanding that she would want public health and medical input [on these decisions], there is a working agreement to involve our office.”

As with almost every health or disaster exercise or real-world scenario, Ms Culbert said she always sits down to “review to see what we learned.”

“In the future I will request to be notified before or as notifications go out to the public,” Ms Culbert said. “I’m not in the Connect Ed system now, but I do want to be put on it.”

Ms Culbert was referring to an automated voice messaging system that was used to send official notifications about the Reed closure to parents last Saturday evening.

The health director said people have been calling the health district, questioning the decision to close the school, but she said it is not the health district’s place to override a district decision.

“Parents need to be clear on that — the schools get to make that decision and we do not override policy; we are there for collaboration and support,” Ms Culbert said.

Ms Culbert, who is also Newtown’s deputy director of emergency management, said she and Dr Robinson “talk all the time, and have been in contact since this situation developed in April.”

“It’s a shame we had so many cases brewing at the end of the school year,” Ms Culbert said.

According to the a health district release, the decision to close the school was based on several factors:

1. Increasing numbers of students were absent from school with influenza-like illness (ILI)

2. Students with ILI symptoms (fever, cough, aches) were reporting to school

3. Several students were sent home both Thursday and Friday with ILI

4. Students who had ILI were returning to school too soon after symptoms resolved and not adhering to the required seven-day exclusion.

The health director also received reports from parents over the weekend (Saturday and Sunday June 20 and 21) that their children had seen a physician over the weekend and had been diagnosed with flu.

“It is the Newtown Health District’s and the Newtown School District’s position that the schools are the safe environment for healthy children to attend,” the release states. “The events of the past week and weekend challenged that position. Some parents did not comply with keeping ill students home. There was insufficient confidence that the school could maintain a relatively ILI-free attendance, and, as such, there was unacceptable risk to the students and the staff.”

In regard to questions about plans to clean the school, Ms Culbert said: “Studies have shown that influenza virus can survive on environmental surfaces and can infect a person for up to two to eight hours after being deposited on the surface. By the time students and staff come to school in the morning, influenza virus on surfaces from the day before would no longer be infectious.

“Schools should continue to clean and disinfect the school facilities according to the regularly followed schedule,” Ms Culbert added. “Routinely used disinfectants are effective in inactivating the virus.”

Although Reed Intermediate School was closed until Thursday, Ms Culbert warned that it is still critically important that individuals with ILI remain at home for seven days to limit spreading the disease.

In a related concern, Ms Culbert said this week that Newtown’s higher incidence of tick-borne disease might further compound the problem in attempts to focus on influenza prevention, because flulike symptoms can also result from an infected tick bite.

“It could take a few days to a few weeks depending on the individual for these flulike symptoms to present following a tick bite,” Ms Culbert said. “It’s less likely a tick-borne illness would present with the intense cough associated with the flu, as well as a sore throat and respiratory difficulties. But many other symptoms, including fever, headache, body aches, malaise, and fatigue, are symptoms of both.”

Take Precautions

 To Prevent

The Flu

According to the Newtown Health District, residents should take precautions to prevent getting or spreading the flu:

*If you get sick, you should stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them. Avoid contact with sick people. The most important message at this time is not new: Students and adults who are sick should not come to school or work. In particular, stay home if you have flu symptoms: fever and cough or sore throat, sometimes with runny or stuffy nose, body aches, vomiting, or diarrhea.

*Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.

*Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

*Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread that way.

The Newtown Health District has information about one confirmed case of H1N1 in its community. However, testing guidance and protocols have changed for the doctors and, as such, confirmation may not occur for people who are experiencing influenza-like illness.

The state health department reported June 23 that a fifth Connecticut resident has succumbed to H1N1. The state Department of Public Health said in a release that the victim from Hartford County was between 50 and 59 years old, and had underlying medical conditions.

The department would not say when the person died, but said the victim died after hospitalization, but confirmed 824 Connecticut residents have been diagnosed with the new flu, and 36 have been hospitalized.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health reports that the incidence of seasonal influenza has dramatically decreased, as is typical for this time of year. It is very reasonable to believe, at this time, that most, if not all, of the ILI in the community at large is H1N1.