Thea Digiammerino

Berlin School Sees 15 Percent of Students, Staff Out Sick

This week parents were notified that more than 100 students and dozens of staff members at McGee Middle School were under the weather.

The crowded cots outside the school nurse’s office were the first sign of trouble at McGee Middle School in Berlin.

“One a daily basis we’re probably seeing about 60 students and I would say better than half of that are coming to us with headache, stomachache, and some flu-like symptoms,” explained McGee’s registered nurse, Karen Rettich.

This week parents were notified that more than 100 students and dozens of staff members at the Berlin school were under the weather.

“I was shocked that it was that amount of kids,” Monica Szmajlo, whose daughter is a sixth-grade student at McGee. “What’s going on? Are kids getting the flu shot?”

Fifteen percent of students and staff at the school have called in sick, twice as much as any other school in the district.

“Fifteen percent is a number that gets your attention,” said Charles Brown, the Central Connecticut Health District’s director of health.

“Students are ill and we want to make sure that they don’t come to school,” said McGee Principal, Salvatore Urso.

Sixth-grader Olivia Jester has missed quite a few classmates this week.

“In science class, five kids were out, like a whole entire table was gone,” she said.

While parents are being urged to take precautions at home, in the classroom, students are being educated on ways to stop infecting their fellow classmates.

“I wash my hands all the time. Like our school said after lunch wash your hands or wash your hands before lunch,” Jester said.

While 10 cases of the flu have been reported, that number could increase as more test results come in from doctor’s offices later this week.

“There’s a difference between influenza-like illnesses and actual influenza,” Brown pointed out. “Things like even mononucleosis can mirror what the flu looks like. A typical cold, for example, can make you feel run down, start coughing.”

“My son just got over the stomach bug,” said Dave Stribling, the parent of a McGee Middle School eighth grader.

McGee’s principal says students are being asked to wipe down gym and computer equipment. The school is stocked with hand sanitizer as well.

“We’re certainly taking precautions here to make sure that their students are still coming to school and learning,” said Urso.

Urso urged parents to keep their kids home if they show symptoms of a virus, and not to return until they are fever free without medication for 24 hours.

“When we hear of people actually staying out of school because they’re sick that’s a public health win for us,” said Brown.

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