Tuesday, May 5, 2009

CDC, School Closures, and Swine Flu

This may make about ten thousand kids in the Milwaukee area very unhappy.

Just a day after the biggest high school in Milwaukee, Hamilton High School, was closed due to the swine flu outbreak, the CDC has reconsidered its recommendation to close schools because of the virus.

ATLANTA (AP) -- U.S. health officials are no longer recommending that schools close because of swine flu.

The government last week advised schools to shut down for about two weeks if there were suspected cases of swine flu. Hundreds of schools around the country have followed that guidance and closed schools.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday that the swine flu virus had turned out to be milder than initially feared. She says the government is changing its advice on closing schools.

Sebelius says parents should still make sure to keep sick children at home.

How will Wisconsin respond to this new advice from the federal government?

Is it time for another news conference, Mayor Barrett?

What now?

I wonder if Joe Biden is on board with this change in advice from the CDC.

Would he advise his own grandchildren to ride a school bus or sit in a classroom?

1 comment:

Patty said...

I think the initial reaction to the swine flu outbreak was a bit overzealous.

The number of cases and deaths reported out of Mexico were obviously wrong. The same with initial reports here in the US.

The general public and the media just got worked up in a frenzy reporting suspected case numbers, rather than waiting to report about confirmed cases only.