Sweeping closures of school systems continued into Northeast Tennessee Wednesday morning.
Elizabethton City Schools announced in the morning hours that the school system would be closed Thursday, Feb. 16, and Friday, Feb. 17, as a result of a large number of absent faculty, staff and students due to illnesses.
Schools are already closed on Monday due to President’s Day but ECS will still hold parent-teacher conferences Monday and will reopen schools Tuesday, Feb. 21.
“It’s something we started to monitor last Wednesday,” Director of Schools Dr. Corey Gardenhour told the Elizabethton Star. “Our custodial staff has been taking the extra steps necessary to help keep the schools are in good condition but we’ve still seen an upward trend of people missing due to the flu, stomach bug, and strep throat.”
The director added that 20 percent of the population at Elizabethton High School was out Wednesday due to illnesses.
Another issue is the diseases affecting faculty and teachers, Gardenhour added. With teachers missing, it’s pushing the need for new substitute teachers with others almost being used to their max capacity for hours.
“We apologize for any inconvenience,” he said. “This is the best way we can prevent the spread of illness to other students.”
Along the city, the Washington County Schools System announced their facilities would be closed for the remainder of the week also due to illnesses. Johnson County schools announced Tuesday that they would be closed because of the issues.
Carter County Schools were closed Wednesday due to snow in Roan Mountain, and the Director of Schools Dr. Kevin Ward added that the system would make an announcement Thursday around lunchtime whether or not to close the schools down due to illnesses.
“At our last check, we were around 91 to 92 percent, which is on average for the student population,” Ward said Wednesday afternoon. “Our plan is to target tomorrow around noon and see how the absentees are and make an announcement from there.”
Ward added the school system has been fortunate to not see a significant decline in student, faculty and staff population. County schools were scheduled for a two-hour delay for Thursday before the paper’s press deadline.
Ward added he’s been examining the other school systems that have closed due to illnesses, which have spanned from the Knoxville area into this region over the past week.
System-wide registered nurse Teresa Robinson advises parents to keep students home from school if they show symptoms like vomiting, fever, cough, rash, irritated eyes, sore throat and cold or flu-like symptoms.
Due to the influenza activity in the Tri-Cities region reaching widespread levels, the region’s health systems are urging the public to take precautions to protect the most vulnerable members of the community. Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health System recently announced they put in place visitation restrictions to protect patients.