The schools that closed their doors to students were mostly in states more affected by the disease - California, New York, Texas and South Carolina. -- PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESSWASHINGTON - SOME 100 schools in the United States were closed on Wednesday in response to the spreading flu outbreak, the US Department of Education said.
The schools that closed their doors to students were mostly in states more affected by the disease - California, New York, Texas and South Carolina.
Some of the institutions were set to reopen on Thursday once suspected cases were confirmed to not involve the H1N1 virus.
'The Department of Education is closely monitoring this flu outbreak and will remain a resource for all of our nation's schools,' said the agency in a statement.
'Schools and districts should follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and be in close communication with their local public health authorities and political leadership,' the statement said.
'What we can tell you is that yes, about 100 schools have closed,' spokesman Jim Bradshaw told AFP.
The CDC confirmed that new cases in the United States leapt upward Wednesday to 91 sickened people, officials said. A 23-month Mexican toddler visiting relatives in Texas has also died from the virus.
President Barack Obama meanwhile said 'schools with confirmed or suspected cases of H1N1 should strongly consider temporarily closing so that we can be as safe as possible'.
If the outbreak becomes more serious 'and we have to take more extensive steps, then parents should also think about contingencies if schools in their areas do temporarily shut down, figuring out and planning what their child care situation would be,' Mr Obama said. -- AFP
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