* Saturday update: The test from my son’s school was negative. Hurray for now! AND the school has been sanitized. Double hurray!
Last Monday, President Obama told the nation his administration was keeping their eye on the swine flu situation. He continued, saying, “But it is not a cause for alarm.”
Okay. I’m not an alarmist. I can go with that.
On Wednesday, my youngest son’s school announced that they were cancelling school for all students on Thursday. Another kindergardener had tested positive for Influenza A that afternoon–probably not the swine flu, but they had to send the culture out for further testing to be sure.
As a parent, I tried to remain calm. I appreciate that the school wants to put kids’ safety first, and that they’re going the “better safe than sorry” route. They’ll be spending Thursday completely sanitizing the school.
But as a parent, my mind also made those jumps. You know the ones. The cough that won’t quit. The too-fast ride on the scooter. The ocean, deep and strong. It’s the what-ifs that get us, isn’t it?
As I Googled away, I ran across this recent article in the Washington Post, and this article on CNN.com, which I decided to share with you. They provide us with a fairly good summary of what’s happening and what to watch out for. I decided to share these here not to incite alarm–quite the opposite. At the very least we can arm ourselves with facts, instead of rumors.
Keep washing your hands, friends. This whole thing is making me a little nervous.
*Footnote update: My son’s school decided to close today, also, until they get positive confirmation on the flu strain.
