JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP, Montgomery County — An elementary school in northern Montgomery County is closed on Friday due to illness.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, Jefferson Township Local School District Superintendent Rusty Clifford said Blairwood Elementary is closed on Friday due to an illness among teachers.
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Data from the Ohio Department of Health show that the number of flu cases is on the rise.
Approximately 659 people in Ohio were hospitalized with the flu last week, and 530 people were hospitalized the week prior.
Jefferson Township Titus Thompson said his whole family just got over the flu.
“A couple of us, we’ve been real sick, head colds and a lot of wheezing, little stomach problems, you know, stuff like that,” Thompson said.
He was surprised to find out school had been canceled becuase the teachers were sick.
“That is shocking now that you say that,” Thompson said. “It’s definitely been going around and hitting a lot of people.”
On Thursday, News Center 7’s Malik Patterson spoke with Superintendent Clifford. He said the teachers were struggling all day.
“Everybody’s running temperatures. They’ve got sore throats, you know, they feel terrible. They made it through today, and then it’s like, oh my goodness, there’s no way I can get in tomorrow,” Clifford said.
He added that five of the seven teachers called in sick, and it just made sense to cancel school.
“Usually it’s kid-to-kid, you know, or the kids, a lot of kids are being sick, and then staff comes down a little bit this time. It’s just, it’s just our teachers,” Clifford said.
However, the janitorial staff will be in the building on Friday.
“We’ll be sanitizing and cleaning everything again to get everything and, you know, taken care of,” Clifford said.
He plans to check in with the staff over the weekend to determine if school will be open on Monday.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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