New York Local News

NEW YORK (CBS) ― The number of New York City schools ordered closed amid rapidly growing fears of swine flu has grown to 16 after the Health Department annouced four more schools will shut down and one Manhattan private school said it would be closing its doors as well.

The news comes a day after the city reported its first death due to the H1N1 strain, and just as Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said he "fully expects" to see even more severe cases in the near future.

The Health Deaprtment announced Monday afternoon that the Q209 building in Whitestone, which houses PS 209 and P9, along with PS 19 in Corona and PS 32 in Flushing will be closed for up to five days beginning Tuesday.

Officials at the private all-boys St. David's School on the Upper East Side chose to close on Monday morning, but not at the city's recommendation.

"We continue to see a rising tide of flu in many parts of New York City," Frieden said. "There is no doubt that we will continue to see cases in schools, cases in different facilities, cases at Riker's Island and elsewhere, and unfortunately we may well see additional cases of people with severe illness. It would be surprising if we didn't."

According to the Health Department, 24 students reported having flu-like symptoms between the two schools in recent days at Q209. At PS 19, which enrolls nearly 2,000 students, 50 students have reported falling ill in the last six days, while 30 students have shown the symptoms at PS 32.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the health commissioner told New Yorkers not to be surprised if more closures will follow.

"We can't stop the virus. Our goal is to minimize it's threat to those who most at risk," said Bloomberg at his Monday morning news conference. "It's possible there will be more closings this week."

St. David's headmaster David O'Halloran says the number of children who fell ill over the last four days was "unusually high" and closing "seemed like the right thing to do for now."

New York State Health Commissioner Richard Daines said Monday that the number of confirmed cases include eight in New York City, where the number stands at 186. The total of new cases outside the city rose to 73, with five in Nassau County and one each in Westchester and Suffolk counties.

Late last week the city closed ten schools in Queens (IS 238, PS 16, IS 5, JHS 74, PS 107, MS 158, Our Lady of Lourdes, I.S. 25, World Journalism Preparatory and Q233) and one in Brooklyn (IS 318) after documenting confirmed cases of H1N1 at IS 238Q, and unusually high levels of flu-like symptoms in the other schools. The Health Department continues to work with the Department of Education to assess the situation daily and make decisions regarding school closures on a case by case basis.

The closing of 16 schools in New York City means more than 10,000 children will miss class this week. It's real struggle for many parents who are now struggling to find childcare.

"You don't go to work, you don't earn," said parent Joann Sison.

Jennifer Bautista attends IS 5, one of the shuttered schools. Bautista's mother rushed her to the hospital today when she started coughing and complaining of stomach pains.

"I was like really scared that I might have the flu. I thought of it, but I just came to the hospital to make sure that I don't have it," she said.

Forutnately, it turned out she doesn't have the flu, as is the case for many patients who have been flooding into emergency rooms like the one at Elmhurst Hospital.

"It's been really busy. The number of patients walking into the emergency room has been outrageous," said Dr. Luis Rodriguez, who works at Elmhurst. Rodriguez says the pediatrics ER has gone from seeing 150 patients a day to more than 300.

"The wait times in the emergency room have tripled or quadrupled just because people are walking in that are not sick, and in the meantime when we get the really emergent cases we have to prioritize and the staff is outstretched," he said.

In New Jersey, the Robert Waters Elementary School in Union City also said it would close after one student tested positive. There are five other suspected cases at the school.

Mitchell Wiener, who worked as an assistant principal at Intermediate School 238 in Queens, died Sunday evening after succumbing to swine flu. Wiener, who had been hospitalized and placed on a ventilator, had been sick with the new H1N1 strain for nearly a week before his school was closed on Thursday. Complications besides the virus likely played a part in his death, officials said.

Symptoms of the swine flu include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting as well. Anyone experiencing severe symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, should seek health care and treatment. The best way to prevent additional cases of flu in schools is to stay home when sick, cover your mouth when coughing and sneezing, and wash hands frequently.

For those who are ill, the recommendation is to stay home until they are symptom-free for at least 24 hours.

Eating pork or pork products cannot spread the swine flu.

Q&A: What Is Swine Flu?
 CDC Swine Flu Facts Sheet
 Learn At Home Student Guides
 CBS News Interactive: Fighting The Flu
 CDC Emergency Updates Via Twitter
 Swine Flu Twitter Live Search Results
 David Burnia's Swine Flu Watch On Twitter
 Google Map Of Suspected, Confirmed Cases



 

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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