-- by Julie Tam, FOX 41 News
Four new cases of swine flu have surfaced in Kentucky, spread across Mercer, Fayette, Jefferson and Lincoln counties.
The state's total has now suddenly risen to 24.
Meyzeek Middle School is dealing with two new probable cases of swine flu, on top of two already confirmed cases.
Starting from when school lets out until past 10 p.m., custodians at Meyzeek are following CDC guidelines for cleaning during flu season.
An unusually high number of students did not show up to school on Thursday, so the principal has a new policy to deal with the absences.
"I have baby brothers and sisters and friends that I hang out with everyday and I don't want to spread it or even get it myself," Devin Webb, an 8th grader at Meyzeek, said.
After finding out two more students may have swine flu at his school, Webb joined about 200 other students not going to school Thursday. Nearly 1,100 students attend Meyzeek. Most of the absent ones did not give the school office a reason, but Webb's mom did call.
"They said, if you're going to intentionally keep him home, then those absences are going to be unexcused," Starr Richardson said about a staff member who answered the school phone.
Since then, principal Chris Burba made the decision to excuse absences due to fear of swine flu.
"What I would ask parents to do is to follow the normal protocol, which is to call the school in the morning and let us know the reason for their absence for that day, and we will be counting the absences as excused," Burba said.
Meyzeek Middle School has brought in a few more janitors, put out more hand sanitizer, and sent a letter home to parents.
The Metro health department recommends the school stay open because the swine flu outbreak is less serious than a normal flu season and the cases at Meyzeek, so far, are mild.
"Do we close schools during normal flu season? No. Do we walk around wearing masks in normal flu season? No," Dr. Adewale Troutman, director of Metro Public Health & Wellness, said. "So there's no reason that we should take those kinds of measures here, with a situation that's probably less dangerous."
Richardson says she'll keep her 8th grader home at least one more day -- Friday.
"I think a long weekend will help, so by next Tuesday, I would be willing to send him back, if it hasn't been a huge outbreak by then," she said.
Custodians will continue their nightly, detailed cleaning, probably until the end of the school year. But they're not going to get to every locker or every inch of the school building, so it's still important for everyone to practice good personal hygiene.
When the swine flu outbreak first spread to schools in other states, the CDC had recommended closing school. But now the federal agency is leaving the decision up to local health and school officials.
