Curtis Baptist School in downtown Augusta is closed Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 10-11, after a sharp increase in illness and confirmed influenza cases. More than one-third of students and several faculty and staff members were absent, according to a letter sent to parents Monday.
The school’s Veterans Day program, planned for Wednesday, is being rescheduled. Curtis Baptist expects to reopen Thursday, Nov. 12, if staffing and illness conditions allow.
The closure comes as South Carolina’s latest available flu surveillance, covering Oct. 25-31, classified influenza activity as widespread. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showed the state’s major flu indicators rising. South Carolina’s Flu Watch report also described overall influenza activity as widespread and flu-like illness activity as high.
Recent state figures
The South Carolina Department of Public Health reported 1,079 lab-confirmed flu cases for the week ending Oct. 31, bringing the season total to 2,279. About 99% of cases reported so far were influenza A. The state recorded 137 flu-associated hospitalizations that week and 350 since early October; people 65 and older made up more than half of those hospitalized.
For the same week, 5.1% of visits to sentinel providers were for flu-like illness, above the state’s 3.2% baseline. Sixty hospitals reported flu-related hospitalizations. The cumulative hospitalization rate was 6.9 per 100,000 people. South Carolina reported two flu-associated deaths this season, both among people 65 and older, with none reported during the final week of October. The CDC map cited in the state report was last updated Oct. 31, so it does not show whether activity has changed since then.
Georgia’s overall flu activity was still rated low. State surveillance for the week ending Oct. 31 counted 103 influenza-related hospitalizations in metro areas and eight outbreaks. Since early October, Georgia’s totals had reached 304 hospitalizations and 29 outbreaks. The Georgia Department of Public Health confirmed two influenza-associated deaths for that week, bringing the season total to nine. The department said totals could change as earlier deaths are reviewed.
Another Georgia school affected by flu was the private Brentwood School in Sandersville, which closed for at least two days in late October.
Vaccination and prevention
Public health officials in both states are urging people to get vaccinated. Georgia Department of Public Health Commissioner Kathleen E. Toomey said the vaccine is recommended for everyone older than six months, with rare exceptions. South Carolina health officials have also emphasized vaccination as illness visits and hospitalizations rise.
Prevention guidance includes washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes with an elbow or arm, and staying home from school or work when sick.
Victoria Sterling
News Now Georgia
