H1N1 forces one school to shut down

Newtown (WTNH) - The district says it does not have any cases of H1N1 in the schools, but a record number of flu cases at Reed Intermediate in Newtown has parents and students concerned.

There are empty hallways, nobody on the jungle gym - school's effectively out for summer at Reed Intermediate School in Newtown following a major flu outbreak last week.

44 folks with symptoms were out sick on Thursday and 58 by Friday. Absences were four times the norm, so school was cancelled through Wednesday.

"I was really bummed out because the last week of school is usually the most fun and we had lot of fun stuff planned like yearbook signing so I called some of my friends and we were all just really bummed out," Sarah Greenwood, a sixth grader at the school, said.

But not everyone shared that sentiment.

"I was kind of happy because I didn't have to go to school. But I'm going miss my friends," Allison Dyke, a fifth grader at the school, said.

Add some fear to mixed reaction over missing school, the first thought many parents and students had was a suspected H1N1 outbreak.

Newtown does have one confirmed case of H1N1. It's a 56 year old woman, and she's reportedly already recovered. But this rash of flu like symptons here at Reed Intermediate certainly adds to concerns in town.

At last count, 767 cases of H1N1 have been confirmed by the state. Three people have died of the disease. 52 percent have been male, 44 percent have been female.

"We have no confirmed cases iof H1N1. We do have adults and staff members who have flu like symptoms; one's fully recovered," Superintendent Dr. Janet Robinson of Newtown Public Schools said. "Everyone is just exhibting flu-like sysmptomns. We just didn't want to send students home for the summer and go off to summer camp and spread this."

And disappointed kids or not, the parents we spoke to think it was the right move.

"I think that they're making the right move on canceling school because it's in our best interest to protect the health of our children, so I think that's a good thing," Frank Dyke, Allison Dyke's father, said.

"Sometimes it's better to overreact especially since this is the end of school," Audrey Greenwood, a parent, said. "It's unfortunate for the students but they're not missing a lot of education.""

Thursday will be a half day so students can get their things and say goodbye to their friends.