Swine flu fears at Claremont school but no confirmation [Updated]

Several parents have removed their children from the Catholic elementary school Our Lady of the Assumption in Claremont today after school authorities learned a first-grade girl at the school is being tested for possible exposure to the swine flu.

Officials stressed that the swine flu had not been linked to school, and tests could take some time. But classes at the school have been cancelled for Tuesday.

The student being tested attended classes last week, including an all-school Friday Mass, after visiting Mexico during spring break, which ended April 20. She developed flu-like symptoms over the weekend, school authorities told students in a public-address statement early Monday morning.

"There's a concern, for that child and my own," parent Andy Stager said. "I'm trying to find out what's going on." Stager removed his eighth-grade daughter from the school.

School officials did not immediately return messages left by The Times.

[Updated at 2:25 p.m.: Principal Bernadette Boyle said in a message posted on the school's website that the school would be closed Tuesday. "Parents will be contacted regarding the resumption of classes, pending the outcome of the student’s test results and further recommendations from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health," she wrote.]

-- Lance Pugmire

Comments

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SWINE FLU AT SCHOOL BUT NO FACTUAL BASIS FOR THIS ASSUMPTION....STAY TUNED

wow, the media sure is having fun with this latest headline/ratings grabber