PORTER, Okla. — Oklahoma is seeing the most flu activity across the country, according to the Walgreens Flu Index.
Some schools are switching to distance learning because too many teachers and students are out sick. 2 News checked in with Porter Consolidated Schools to see how they’re working to keep students safe.
Porter Elementary School has an extra layer of cleaning, from the classrooms to the lockets. Custodian Ashley Smith is spending extra time wiping everything down.
“The flu is rampant right now,” said Ashley Smith.
She says this past week has been rough.
“Lots of vomit,” said Smith. “Lots of kids going home early. Teachers being sick. So we’ve been sanitizing and spraying like crazy to keep it down a little bit.”
Grounds Maintenance Manager Matt Willhite says about 150 students were out sick along with teachers. It’s the reason the district switched to distance learning to round out the school week.
“We’ve been cleaning our classrooms and our hallways,” said Willhite. “Disinfecting our lockets. Making sure the kids are safe coming back next week.”
Willhite says they’re focused on high-touch areas like the sink handles, door handles, and desktops.
“We wanted to take the precautions for our kids to be safe and our staff to be safe,” said Willhite.
Several schools across Green Country are reporting an increase in illnesses.
“We are in full-blown respiratory season,” said Jessica Rice.
Tulsa Health Department Epidemiology Manager Jessica Rice says across Tulsa County, we’ve had 311 flu hospitalizations so far this flu season and 7 deaths. (Tulsa County-specific flu report [tulsa-health.org])
For parents like Ashley, they’re doing whatever they can to keep their kids healthy.
“When we go home first thing we do is wash our hands and put all our jackets in the washer and our clothes,” said Smith. “That’s the best I can do ,really.”
Rice recommends staying home when you’re sick. Cover your cough and sneeze, and wash your hands to prevent the spread of the flu.
After the deep clean this week, Porter Schools will return to the classroom on Feb. 3.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- SUBSCRIBE on YouTube
