First Greenwich Roundup Breaks The News:
And Then The Hearst Newspaper Editors Asign The Story To Colin Gustafson:
As public schools remain open despite rising swine flu infections, a private day care center in Pemberwick will stay closed until Monday, after nearly the entire staff called out sick this week amid concerns about another outbreak of the virus.
Preschool administrators decided to shutter The Gateway School, an all-day childcare center, 2 Chapel St., for the entire week Tuesday morning, after 11 of the 12 staffers said they would be absent from work.
Since then, four teachers and four students have tested positive for the flu, and are awaiting confirmation from the state Department of Public Health on whether the flu strain is in fact the H1N1 virus, the school said.
This Is How Education Reporting Works In Greenwich:
First A Parent Tells Greenwich Roundup
About A Problem.
Then Greenwich Roundup Types
And The Lamestream Of Greenwich Reports
.....Six of the sick employees and students are from Greenwich and two are from Stamford, according to Beth Tanner, preschool director for Family Centers, the Greenwich-based nonprofit that runs Gateway.
So far, she said, eight staffers have reported flu-like symptoms and several parents have reported that their children have been suffering from fevers and vomiting spells since being pulled out of the school, which serves 53 children, ages 2-5.
The state's test results for the preschool were still pending Thursday evening -- even as the state health department confirmed 16 new cases of swine flu in town, including 15 new infections at Western Middle School. That updated tally Thursday showed the total number of confirmed H1N1 cases in Greenwich doubling since Wednesday, when a total of 16 cases had been confirmed, including 11 students at Western......
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.....Still, some Gateway parents said they were pleased with the decision to err on the side of caution and close the school, particularly because the students are younger and may be more vulnerable to flu infections than middle schoolers, they said.
"I think the situation is a little more serious when you're dealing with these younger kids," said Laura Marino, whose sons, Marco, 4, and Zachary, 5, are out sick from the preschool with the flu. "They're a little smaller, and they don't always know how to tell you when they have symptoms."......
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You Get Results.....
....Since being closed, the preschool has been cleaned and sterilized, according Bill Brucker, communications director for Family Centers.
Across Connecticut, 47 new cases of H1N1 were confirmed by state health officials Thursday, bringing the total statewide count to 196 with the majority of infections -- 134 -- in Fairfield County.
Health officials said the number of confirmed cases represents only a fraction of the likely number of cases in the state because many persons with mild symptoms do not seek care from a doctor or hospital but recover at home.
"We expect to see it higher," town Health Director Caroline Calderone Baisley said.
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