Flu triggers Head Start closure
Adam Asmar
Issue date: 5/4/09 Section: News
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As a result, the Center is closed through May 5.
Dr. Richard McCrary, interim president of Brookhaven College, said, "The sibling has contracted type A [influenza] and that takes about seven days for the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] to confirm if it is swine flu."
According to McCrary, the family and the child have been quarantined.
Six Brookhaven students present at the Head Start Center on April 29 have all been informed of the situation.
As of May 1, the Head Start Center is scheduled to reopen May 6. Head Start officials are asking students' parents to find other arrangements for child care until the building is properly disinfected.
McCrary said Brookhaven officials are taking measures to ensure the campus and campus events remain sanitary. He said school officials were looking into the possibility of distributing hand sanitizer around campus.
He also said health measures will be promoted at graduation, such as discouraging handshaking.
"Richland College has decided that they will not shake hands at the [graduation] ceremony," McCrary said.
In an e-mail sent by Mildred Kelley, Brookhaven nurse, she urged people to keep things in perspective.
Kelley said people should "get the facts, maintain a helpful outlook and build resilience."
McCrary said although this issue has caught Brookhaven by surprise, he said he wanted to assure students that all measures are being taken to promote the health of people on campus.
"Obviously we are going to monitor and continue to monitor this situation so we can see what needs to happen," he said.
On April 25, the Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services issued a county health advisory giving flu-prevention tips.
Dallas County recommends all citizens to:
Wash hands often with soap and water.
Use waterless, alcohol-based hand gels (containing at least 60 percent alcohol).
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.
If there is no tissue available, cover a cough or sneeze with the upper-arm-shirt sleeve, not with hands.
Wash your hands after coughing or sneezing.
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