| April 27, 2009 · There are signs that the swine flu virus is spreading in Cibolo, Texas, near San Antonio. There could be as many as 12 cases of swine flu among the students. As a result, all the schools in the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City School District are closed for the entire week.
Per the orders of the Texas Department of Health, Belinda Pustka, the superintendent for the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District, closed all 14 schools in the district. Pustka explained the action in a podcast posted on the school district’s website.
The closures impact over 11,000 students and their families who live in the 73 square mile area at the foothills of the Texas Hill Country. The students will miss school during TAKS testing. They’ll have to make that up and they’ll also need to make up the lost school days.
On Sunday at the Cibolo City Hall, local officials gathered to plan their response and to take part in a conference call with the Center for Disease Control. Cibolo city manager Bruce Pierson said they closed the city parks in a precautionary move. Pierson said the Cibolo community is cooperating with the CDC requests to avoid gatherings.
There was a meeting planned for Monday night at Steele high school to discuss the swine flu outbreak, but it’s now been canceled. The school district has set up an information hotline at 210-619-4700 for parents and school employees to call for updates. Across the state, health officials are urging anyone who is feeling flu like symptoms to stay home and not go to school or work.
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