ACPS last week confirmed two cases of swine flu (H1N1) with two students at James K. Polk Elementary School. According to a June 9 letter from Superintendent Morton Sherman, the students are recovering at home and should be well enough to return to school after about seven days.

Any further students or staff showing symptoms have been asked to stay home for seven days and to wait until all symptoms have disappeared for 24 hours.

Parents will be notified about confirmed or suspected cases of H1N1 if we begin to see more than a few isolated confirmed cases, or if there appears to be a cluster of flu-like illness in any particular group of children, Sherman stated in a release.

The measures being taken at Polk and system-wide are reflective of a recent change in protocol regarding the swine flu, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, as its severity does not seem to be greater than the seasonal flu virus.