Responding quickly to what has been described as a “probable” case of the swine flu, district officials have decided to close Holmes Junior High for 14 days. The Holmes student was one of two flu cases reported by Yolo County health officials Friday. The second case involves an adult.
According to a memo by Superintendent James Hammond:
“Holmes Junior High School is closed to students for a period of fourteen calendar days as now recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and the California Department of Public Health and directed by the Yolo County Health Department. This is an extension of the time period originally announced. Your Holmes Junior High student(s) must remain away from campus and are highly discouraged from congregating in groups. All Holmes students are prohibited from attending any District sponsored activities (i.e. All-City Band, All-City Orchestra, Chorus, Athletics, etc.)”
In the memo Dr. Hammond wrote:
“As most of you are aware there have been a number of schools in California that have been ordered to send students home because of H1N1 flu cases. The Davis Joint Unified School District is following the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, the California Department of Public Health, and the Yolo County Health Department.
In addition, we are committed to providing you updated information as soon as it becomes available. Below you will find specific information for Holmes Parents, Holmes Staff, District Staff, and Community Members.”
Originally parents were told parents that all siblings should remain at home as well. That is no longer the case.
“Healthy siblings are expected to attend school. Healthy siblings have no restrictions. They may participate in all school-related activities. Please continue to monitor the health of your child. In addition, please review this entire communication, especially the information directed for Community Members as it relates to preventative measures.”
According to the District Website the following information has been provided by the Yolo County Public Health:
“It is important for people to continue to take common sense steps to protect themselves from spreading disease,” states Dr. Joseph Iser Yolo County Health Officer/Director. “Washing your hands frequently, sneezing and coughing into a tissue or your sleeve, and staying home when you are sick are important steps individuals can take to stop the spread of disease.”
The symptoms of H1N1 influenza in humans are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have also reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with human H1N1 flu.
Flu is generally spread by direct contact with germs from an infected person, from either uncovered coughs or sneezes or by touching something the infected person has handled. People experiencing more than mild flu-like symptoms, particularly individuals who have recently traveled to Mexico, should call their health care provider for advice. Anyone experiencing severe symptoms, such as trouble breathing, should seek medical care immediately.
Yolo County Public Health is coordinating with state and federal agencies to implement increased influenza surveillance and containment measures. The emergency operation centers at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention and the California Department of Public Health have been activated to investigate this outbreak. Yolo County Public Health is in frequent communication with area healthcare providers, city officials, and local schools.
For more information about H1N1 influenza, go to: www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu, call the CDC hot line at 1-800-232-4636, or call the California state warm line at 1-888-865-0564 Monday-Friday 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
So is Davis High going to be closed as well? What are the rumors centering on so far?
For the latest information, go to the district website at [url]http://www.djusd.net/[/url].
The last update was posted at 9 p.m. last night (Friday). No mention was made of any other schools, so the notion that DHS is going to be closed is only rumor. There are DHS activities scheduled this weekend that are still on.
This closure is pure, stupid, irrational hysteria. The risk at Holmes is no greater now than it was last year at this time when a few students had the regular flu. 36,000 Americans die every year from the regular flu. The swine flu will probably kill fewer than that. Yet the hysteria is leading small minded James Hammmonds-types all over the country to close schools. What a bunch of idiots.
Anonymous I agree this is hysteria, but blaming it on Hammond shows you’re the idiot! Blame the Health Department, Hammond is just the messenger. I don’t know what you have against Hammond but your bias reeks through.
Bias? I don’t know Hammond. He made the decision to close the school. That is stupid. Hammond wrote: “Holmes Junior High School is closed to students for a period of fourteen calendar days as now [u]recommended by the Centers for Disease Control[/u] and the California Department of Public Health and directed by the Yolo County Health Department.”
This is what the CDC says on its website: “[u]Little information is available on what the effectiveness of a school closure might be[/u] in preventing further community spread of this new virus. In addition, the risk of severe illness from this virus is not yet clear. The authority for decisions regarding school dismissal and childcare closure may vary and resides in different sectors of State and local government including School Superintendents, Mayors, Governors, emergency management officials, and public health officials.”
The Davis superintendent, I repeat, is acting hysterically, not responding to any mandate from the CDC. If he had asked the right questions and was not being ridiculously cautious, he would have understood how stupid HIS decision was.
As it says in your own quote–it was recommended by the CDC, the California Department of Public Health, and directed by the Yolo County Health Department.
I have ask are you really calling him foolish for following their advice? How is the Davis Superintendent acting hysterically for following the advice of experts from the CDC?
CDC is clearly erring on the side of caution, but to put the blame on Hammond for following their recommendation makes no sense to me. I have no dog in this fight, but I question your conclusion.
“CDC is clearly erring on the side of caution, but to put the blame on Hammond for following their recommendation makes no sense to me.”
I agree with this statement. But I also agree that at present, this flu doesn’t appear to be any different from the seasonal flu we all encounter every year. I presume in a week or two, this flu will not express itself in any way to justify any further overly excessive precaution.
GW Bush was hammered for not leading a sufficient response to Katrina. Past history suggest that excessive caution is less politically damaging than insufficient caution.
Skeptic writes: “GW Bush was hammered for not leading a sufficient response to Katrina. Past history suggest that excessive caution is less politically damaging than insufficient caution.”
New Orleans, a primarily poor, black city and metro area was, for obvious political reasons, de-prioritized by the powers-that-be. Davis, a primarily wealthy, Asian/white city merits school closures and bureaucratic hand-holding (with gloves on).
The CDC is NOT CALLING FOR THE CLOSURE OF SCHOOLS! Can’t you read? The CDC says it has no idea if it makes any sense to close a school. Its website says the CDC does not know if it would do any good at all.
The decision to close Holmes WAS NOT THE CDC’s. That was Mr. Hammond’s decision. There is no responsible, sensible medical advisory which suggests closing schools makes any sense at all, short of a widespread outbreak. When Mr. Hammond says, “The Davis Joint Unified School District is following the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control,” he is lying. That is patently false. The CDC never, never, never said it makes sense to close a school when ” there is one probably case of swine flu.” ONE POSSIBLE CASE!
This is just mass hysteria by an ignorant crowd.
Students at Holmes, if it opened up next week, would be 100 times more at risk of dying riding their bikes to school, than they will because one child had the swine flu.
You are assuming you know what was communicated privately to the school district based on what was printed on the web site. If the district says the CDC RECOMMENDED they take these actions, you have NO EVIDENCE to suggest that is false. Quit trying to stir things up based on fragments of information.
Read what you copied above…”and directed by the Yolo County Health Department.” In addition, the CDC *IS* calling for school closures. “School dismissal and childcare closures are an important part of a comprehensive, layered mitigation approach aimed at reducing disease transmission and associated morbidity and mortality during the 2009 H1N1 virus outbreak in the US.” http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/K12_dismissal.htm?s_cid=tw_epr_101
What do the California Department of Public Health, and the Yolo County Health Department recommend?
Let’s all take a breath here. DJUSD is simply following the protocols established by local, state, and federal public health officials. This is an appropriate response given the continued virulence of H1-N1 in Mexico and we should expect no less from our school district officials. I’m sure that DJUSD will continue to review its quarantine policies, keep in close contact with the county health department, and possibly revise the May 1 announcement if circumstances change.
This is NOT an appropriate response. It’s hysteria. There is no greater danger to students at Holmes now than there was two months ago. Keep in mind: there has not been an epidemic of swine flu or any other flu at Holmes. One child has symptoms of the flu. Nothing more. In December at Holmes, there were probably 5-10 students with flu-like symptoms. This is far less dangerous than that.
You might hear about “people dying from swine flu.” Think again. Those people dying are not perfectly healthy junior high students. They are people with terribly compromised immune system unable to fight off a viral infection.
Let me quote a broader section of the CDC verbiage:
[i][b]Recommendations When 2009 H1N1 Virus is Confirmed in a School, School District, or Community[/b]
These guidelines address a flexible and scalable approach that States and local jurisdictions can use based on the situation in their communities (e.g. [u]number of cases, severity of illness, affected groups[/u]).[/i]
How many cases at Holmes? One–maybe.
Severity? According to the Yolo County Health Dept.: Ordinary flu-like symptoms.
Affected groups? Very old people? No. Very young? No. People with compromised immune systems? No.
[i][b]Recommend Scalable and Incremental School Dismissal and Childcare Facility Closure in Affected Communities:[/b]
School districts must work closely and directly with their local and State public health officials to make sound decisions and implement strategies in a coordinated manner keeping in mind:
Decisions to dismiss students and close childcare facilities and subsequent implementation of those measures should be made based on the extent and severity of illness;
That [u]local authorities decide[/u] whether or not to dismiss schools or close childcare facilities; and; [/i]
The decision was made by Hammond. He made a stupid decision based on misinformation, a wrong reading of the science and an incorrect interpretation of CDC guidelines. I don’t know what the Yolo Health Dept. told him. But it should coincide with the CDC recommendations, which DO NOT suggest shutting a school with no mass outbreak and a population which is not in great danger from this flu.
It’s sad that the posters above act like sheep, assuming for no good reason that there is a good reason to close a school for two weeks. I’m not rigid in my opinion. If the school district presents any evidence that there is a widespread outbreak at Holmes or that there is any good reason to think the school is more dangerous today than it was during flu season in December when 5-10 students had the flu at Holmes, then I’ll concede I was wrong. For now, I’m disappointed in Mr. Hammond, and disappointed in anyone who thinks he is following federal guidelines. He’s not. He’s succumbing to widespread hysteria over something far, far less dangerous than many things our children face every day.
Anonymous get over yourself! I agree it’s mass hysteria, but Hammond has to follow the health department’s recommendations. If you didn’t have such an obvious bias against the superintendent I would agree with you.
I think it’s clear it was a judgment call. Anonymous is busy sharpening his pitchfork, and I don’t think anyone has any hope of convincing him that this was the right thing to do.
That’s okay. He doesn’t need to be convinced. If he’s unhappy with the decision, he should take steps to make sure someone who shares his judgment on these issues replaces Hammond in office.
The rest of us who support Hammond’s decision will act otherwise. End of story.
“Hammond has to follow the health department’s recommendations.”
Hammond didn’t follow the health department’s recommendations, if the health department is following CDC guidance. “Yolo County Public Health is coordinating with state and federal agencies to implement increased influenza surveillance and containment measures.” ([url]http://www.yolocounty.org/Index.aspx?page=26&recordid=751&returnURL=/Index.aspx?page=65[/url]) CDC has said that there is no reason to close a school (see above) unless there is a widespread outbreat (there is not one in Davis or at Holmes), unless it is severe (it’s not), or unless the outbreak affects a vulnerable population (which does not apply at Holmes).
It’s nice that you are loyal to your dear leader, Mr. Hammond. But don’t claim Hammond’s decision is justified because he was told to do this by the CDC recommendations. That’s absurd and false. He made a big mistake based on ignorance.
It’s easy to come on this blog and blast someone (i.e. Anonymous vs Hammond). I would be more impressed if Anonymous actually sends their complaints directly to Hammond and voices their discontent. Coming online ‘anonymously’ is a safe and easy way to go.
If this bothers you so much, I suggest you make an appointment with the Superintendent.
Today’s (5/3) Enterprise and Vanguard report that directions/guidelines came from CDC and the County Health office.
Anonymous’ postings are creating further hysteria on top of the current hysteria.
“It’s easy to come on this blog and blast someone (i.e. Anonymous vs Hammond). I would be more impressed if Anonymous actually sends their complaints directly to Hammond and voices their discontent. Coming online ‘anonymously’ is a safe and easy way to go.
If this bothers you so much, I suggest you make an appointment with the Superintendent.”
I get tired of the argument “well why didn’t you say something to so and so when it mattered”, to shut down dissenting argument. Anonymous makes a good point. Hammond shut down Holmes as a CYA move, nothing more. He didn’t show particularly good judgment, but figured it was better to be safe than sorry. Let’s hope he made some provisions to make sure students will not miss two weeks worth of instruction.
Folks Jammes Hammond did not make the call. The County Health Department did. If you have a problem with the decision they along with the CDC and CDE are the ones to blame.
Last week St. Mel’s (private school in Fair Oaks) closed because of several cases of swine flu. Also a Tulare County elementary school closed last week after a kid came down with the swine flu.
[url]http://www.sacbee.com/989/story/1818329.html[/url]
In California, Hammond’s action is not unusual.
One reason for the excessive caution is that birds and swine are common sources for new flu strains that jump to humans. Some strains can be more virulent than others. Until researchers verify that this strain isn’t so dangerous (and so far it seems like it isn’t so dangerous), caution is justified.