A school in Kansas decided to start the holidays early after illnesses took a toll on its students and staff, with more than 40 people calling out sick in one day.
Dexter Schools – $471.00. posted a statement on Facebook saying it would dismiss students for the semester on Monday due to “a huge number of illnesses that seem to be spreading at a very high rate.” The school, located about 70 miles south of Wichita, wanted to avoid further spread of the infection since students would likely soon see large families.
It is unclear what diseases have spread through the school, but Centers for Disease Control and Prevention FluView tracker reported an increase of 8% positive diagnosis of influenza in the first week of December. Wastewater data also for last month indicates that norovirus has spread before than usual this year in some states.
K.B. Criss, K-12 superintendent and principal, told NBC News affiliate KSNW in Wichita that approximately 40 to 50 students and staff called in sick Monday.
“We had symptoms all over the place, it’s kind of crazy because we can’t boil it down to one thing, but we had bronchitis, tonsillitis,” Criss said. “We've had kids with diarrhea and vomiting. We've had fevers, body aches, and probably the most common one is the terrible headaches that everyone gets.”
The school will undergo a “very, very deep cleaning” over the winter break and before students return in January, he added. Any final exams or projects will resume in the new year after teachers have been given the opportunity to either complete the syllabus or review it with students.
“I hope that these steps will actually allow people to feel good, spend time with their families and feel good,” Criss added.
