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Sep 30, 2009 4:12 pm US/Central
Increased Flu Absences Close Addison School
ADDISON (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
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MYCHELE DANIAU/AFP/Getty Images
1,500 students from Trinity Christian Academy and thousands more from across North Texas spent Wednesday at home because their schools were closed.
The widespread flu illness has forced the shutdown of many schools, including the Addison private school.
Headmaster David Delph says he has never seen a school impacted by this level of illness before.
There are three campuses that make up Trinity Christian Academy, designated for primary, junior high and high school students.
The school is now off-limits for all students until Monday.
No football practice...no volleyball, no school-related activities at all... Trinity Christian Academy is done for the week.
School officials say Trinity Christian was inundated with children and teens coming down with flu-like illnesses. More than 100 children were impacted Tuesday alone. That doesn't include the number of students already home sick.
The primary concern was eliminating the spread. School officials consulted with Dallas County Health & Human Services, and as a result, all kids have been sent home.
"As one community on campus, we knew that the most significant thing we could do was get kids home, get well, and restart on Monday," Delph said.
Dr. John Carlo with Dallas County HHS says the school and health department were in agreement. "W
e saw high rates of absenteeism, it indicated something was particularly different going on with the school. We agreed with the school officials the right decision was to have a dismissal in this situation."
The logic is to let kids recover. That would cut the spread of the virus.
The school is currently undergoing special environmental cleaning of all buildings while they steer the students clear of a virus already infecting so many others.
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