Information for Schools

Maine CDC expects that most schools in the state will eventually have some cases of the flu. Below are some tips for preventing and responding to H1N1.

• Host school-based vaccine clinics.
• Stay home when sick: Those with flu-like illness should stay home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever, or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medicines. They should stay home even if they are using antiviral drugs. If a child comes to school sick, they will be sent home. Please do not send your child to school if they are not feeling well.  If your child has a fever, do not give them fever reducing medication and then send them to school. This exposes other students to illness and leads to more students getting sick and higher absentee rates.
• Separate ill students and staff: Both students and staff that come to school with flu-like illness, or develop symptoms during the day, will be sent to a separate room until they can be sent home. They will be asked to wear a surgical mask if possible, and those caring for them will also wear masks in order to reduce the spread of infection.

• Report elevated absenteeism or school closure due to illness.

  School absentee reporting
  Directions	Word	PDF
  Reporting form	Word	PDF
  Tracking form	Word	PDF

• Don’t get, don’t spread the flu: stay home when sick, wash hands frequently with soap and water when possible, and cover noses and mouths with a tissue when coughing or sneezing (or a shirt sleeve or elbow if no tissue is available).

• Routine cleaning: School staff should routinely clean areas that students and staff touch often with the cleaners they typically use. CDC does not believe any additional disinfection of environmental surfaces beyond the recommended routine cleaning is required.
• Consider selective school dismissal: Maine CDC and Department of Education are not issuing directives to close schools at this time. The goal of both state agencies is to keep schools open and functioning as usual, whenever possible. On a case-by-case basis, some schools may need to consider closing, based on:
  • Absenteeism that is substantially higher than expected for the facility at this time of year
  • Confirmation that the absenteeism is due to influenza-like-illness
  • Indication that the already high absenteeism is rising rather than falling
  • Inability to function due to high absenteeism among students and/or staff

School administrators with questions about reporting increased absenteeism, precautions to take, or the ways in which to notify parents about cases of flu in the school, should contact Maine CDC’s Clinical Consultation line at 1-800-821-5821 or e-mail disease.reporting@maine.gov.