TWO HARBORS - Compared with last week, when more than 100 students were out with flu-like illnesses at Minnehaha Elementary, fears of a growing outbreak have subsided. Had the absentee trend continued, schools could have been closed in following an action plan recently approved by the school board.
As of Tuesday, about 25 kids were out of school at Minnehaha with fewer than 10 were reporting the flu.
Two Harbors High School has stayed in good shape. "We're staying pretty low with (the flu) at the high school," said Louise Anderson, the school nurse.
In Silver Bay, 18 students have been out with flu symptoms recently. "It's still not bad," school nurse Karen Brostrom said. "We haven't gotten the large numbers."
In a few weeks, help will be here. Anderson said free immunization clinics will begin at local schools the week of Nov. 16. "[We] will start out with the younger kids and kids with chronic health conditions," she said.
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Phil Minkkinen, superintendent for the Lake Superior School District, said at the regular school board meeting last week that he wasn't sure if schools would close individually or there would be a blanket closure. t was originally anticipated that all schools would be hit similarly.
The action plan says that if 25 percent of support staff, including cooks, custodians and paraprofessionals, are out due to illness, all buildings in the district would be closed. Buildings could also be closed if 30-percent of students are out with illness.
