As the Swine Flu scare subsides, life is returning to normal for many school children across the area.
In Chicago, the Rogers Park elementary school that was closed last week after Chicago Public Schools officials were notified that a student had a probable case of the virus, reopened Wednesday, as have several shuttered schools in the suburbs.
Classes resumed at Joyce Kilmer School, 6700 N. Greenview, CPS reported.
Kilmer had been closed since last Wednesday. The virus strain contracted by a Kilmer student was later confirmed as H1N1.
Chicago's Health Commissioner Terry Mason said, "Re-opening Kilmer School is a smart move; and the additional steps taken system wide, including rigorous monitoring of attendance patterns and providing hand sanitizer gel in schools, are commendable and exemplary.”
In addition to reopening Kilmer, school officials announced that hand sanitizer gel is being placed in CPS schools.
“While we will continue to encourage our students and staff to maintain a thorough hand-washing regimen, the sanitizing gel provides another option at minimizing the risk of spreading germs," Chicago Board of Education member Dr. Tariq Butt said.
Despite the lessening fear and a better understanding of the threat presented by the virus, the state health department announced that reported cases of the flu jumped from nine on Monday to 82 on Wednesday.
Suburban Schools Reopen
Other schools that reopened their doors Wednesday are:
- St. Charles, Haines Middle School
- Oswego, Bednarcik Junior High School
- Batavia High School
Set to open later in the week are:
- Rotolo Middle School
- Marmion Academy in Aurora
