West Orange Schools Seeing ‘Normal’ Number Of Flu Cases: Official

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Although cases of flu continue to be reported across the state, the West Orange Public School District is seeing a “normal” amount of cases, administrators reported Monday.

According to Acting Superintendent Eveny de Mendez, the number of flu cases in the district are “within normal range,” despite New Jersey Department of Health reports of widespread influenza activity in all regions of the state.

De Mendez wrote a letter to local parents and guardians on March 11 about the flu status in the school district. In the letter, she stated:

“Within the West Orange Public Schools, each school nurse monitors and maintains daily documentation to reflect any student who exhibits influenza-like illnesses or symptoms. Should an outbreak occur, the West Orange Health Department would be consulted. We are fortunate the incidences of influenza are currently considered typical.”

The superintendent offered the following recommendations for those with flu-stricken children:

“To help prevent the spread of influenza, communicable disease and to help promote a rapid recovery with minimum after effects, please keep your child home if they experience headache, body aches, sore throat, cough, low grade fever (100 or above) vomiting, diarrhea, or simply do not appear well. It is highly recommended that your child returns to school having been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication… Thank you for your assistance with this matter. Following these recommendations will help to prevent the spread of illness and will keep our school community healthy.”

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