Deep clean of Fairhope schools underway, more kids miss school
FAIRHOPE, Ala. (WKRG) — There is a nearly empty parking lot at Fairhope West Elementary where normally almost 1,000 kids would be in class.
Students were not able to attend school on Thursday and will have the rest of the week following an outbreak of a gastrointestinal illness.
“Our staff at Fairhope West was really just devastated by this norovirus and the kids too,” Superintendent Eddie Tyler said. “We had a large number of students, but still, you can’t have those children there if you don’t have staff.”
Fairhope East Elementary is also feeling the effects of the virus outbreak. According to reports, only 145 of the 866 students were at school Thursday after officials urged parents to keep them home if possible because of the highly contagious illness.
“We have jumped on this situation and done the right thing,” Tyler said. “There is always going to be a few that tell you how you should have done it, but as long as the kids are safe that’s my main concern.”
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The Alabama Department of Public Health’s infectious disease and outbreak team has been called in to investigate what’s going on at Fairhope East and West. In a statement released to News 5, ADPH said, “Infection control measures have been implemented at the schools. Specimens have been collected for analysis.”
The illness is believed to be the norovirus, but an official diagnosis will have to wait for test results from the health department and that could take up to five days.
While an official diagnosis is pending, all of the schools in Fairhope are being sanitized by a company that has a spray that kills the norovirus. A deep clean of Fairhope East and West along with the Middle school was completed Wednesday night. The high school and J. Larry Newton will be cleaned Thursday night, according to officials.
All classes will be back in session on Monday, March 4.
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