Bell Street Middle School is open Monday morning after health officials informed the school a student has a probable case of H1N1 flu.
The Department of Health and Environmental Control notified Laurens School District 56 of the case over the weekend. School leaders elected to open Monday for classes after a meeting with the regional DHEC office.
In a letter to parents, Bell Street Middle informed parents they believe potential transmission of the flu can be controlled without closing the school.
The school was cleaned Sunday according to the letter and additional nursing staff from DHEC will be available to help screen students or staff who present with influenza like illnesses on Monday.
DHEC said Sunday afternoon that 16 South Carolinians definitely have the H1N1 virus - formerly called "swine flu." The 16 people who have the virus are all associated in some way with a recent Newberry Academy school trip to Mexico according to Jerry Gibson, M.D., chief of DHEC's Bureau of Disease Control.
DHEC says 15 of the cases are in Newberry and one related to that cluster is in Laurens County. There are a total of 11 probable cases of H1N1 in Newberry, Fairfield, Laurens, Anderson and Greenville counties.
Newberry Academy will reopen Monday after being closed for several days. However all 14 Newberry County Public Schools are closed Monday to keep the flu from spreading. District employees are to report at their normal time.
Mauldin High School in Greenville County is reopening Monday morning after it was closed for two days. The building was cleaned and DHEC reports there are no cases of H1N1 among those students who were tested.
If you have concerns on the flu, DHEC has a hotline set up for you. All you have to do is dial 211.
They opened up the line Friday and say they have received hundreds of calls.
The World Health Organization is reporting 985 cases of H1N1 in 20 countries Monday morning.
Mexico has reported 590 laboratory confirmed human cases of infection, including 25 deaths. The higher number of cases from Mexico reflects ongoing testing of previously collected specimens.
The United States has reported 226 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death.
In South Carolina the following counties have confirmed cases of H1N1 flu.
The following counties have probable cases of H1N1
Anderson 1
Greenville 2
Laurens 3
Newberry 4
Fairfield 1
Bell Street Middle School is located on Peachtree Street in Clinton.
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