CDC Offers Updated Guidelines -- Forest Grove Schools to Re-open Wednesday

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Forest Grove School District announced that they will re-open all of their schools Wednesday, including Cornelius Elementary School. The schools have been closed Monday and Tuesday because of concern over the H1N1 (swine flu) virus.

However, U.S. health officials announced today that the virus has proven milder than expected, and they no longer recommend that schools close because of swine flu. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as the result of close studies done over the last four days, has determined that because the new flu virus has spread so much within communities, school closure is less effective as a control measure. They recommend schools treat the current flu in the same way they would with any other seasonal flu.

As a result, "We are very pleased and excited that our students are going to be back in school tomorrow," said Superintendent Jack Musser. "We firmly believe that, based on new information from the Centers For Disease Control and Washington County Health Department, that it's safe to reopen tomorrow."

"This is great news," said Kathleen O'Leary, Washington County Public Health Administrator. "The schools will be following their exclusion policies, sick students will remain home and healthy students will be able to continue their studies."

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