New Swine Flu Guidelines Suggest Schools Stay Open

Bracing for a resurgence of swine flu cases, federal officials on Friday advised U.S. schools to send sick children home with masks this fall but otherwise stay open unless they serve many students with certain medical conditions. State and local officials also should plan for temporary home schooling and consider additional steps if the flu dramatically worsens.

The recommendations mark a change from the spring, when U.S. officials initially urged state and local officials to close schools at the first sign of suspected H1N1 virus.

Top Obama health, education and homeland security officials said that new evidence about the global pandemic shows that the disruption caused by mass closures outweighs any potential benefits of closures, at least for now.

"It is now clear closure of schools is rarely indicated," said Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Even if H1N1 is in the school, there are measures we can take to protect the students, to protect the staff and allow learning to continue."

The guidance for public and private K-12 schools is the first of a rolling set of recommendations from the federal government. More guidelines will be issued within days for pre-kindergarten and early learning centers, by Aug. 23 for colleges and universities, and later for U.S employers, officials said.

Officials said Friday that the key is for people who are sick to stay home until at least 24 hours after their fevers end. If they show up in school, sick students and staff should be separated in a clean, safe room and given protective gear such as a mask until they can go home, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said.

Only schools with large numbers of students who are especially at-risk of illness, such as students who are pregnant or who have conditions such as muscular dystrophy or cerebral palsy, might want to close, Frieden said.

More government recommendations are online at flu.gov.