Georgia School for the Deaf students sent home due to illness

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The Georgia School for the Deaf is the latest to have students sent home for flu-like symptoms.

Lee Shiver, director of the state-run GSD in Cave Spring, said Thursday the school sent home 22 students since Sunday.

He said the school plans to allow the students to return to school Sunday once their fevers break, and it has not affected school operations.

“We’re still planning on playing the Tennessee School for the Deaf in this weekend’s football game,” Shiver said.

Rome and Floyd County school officials said they have seen some sick students, but nothing alarming.

Rome City Schools Superintendent Gayland Cooper said they are giving students basic information to keep from spreading illnesses.

“Cough into your sleeve, wash your hands frequently and students with a temperature are sent home until their fever breaks without medication,” Cooper said.

If a widespread outbreak does occur, Cooper said, the schools’ first move would be to consult with Dr. Wade Sellers, head of the Northwest Georgia Public Health.

 

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RN-T.com - Georgia School for the Deaf students sent home due to illness

The Georgia School for the Deaf has sent all students home after several of them developed flu-like symptoms and other illnesses over the last few days.

Administrators made the call this morning after a number of student-athletes, including those living in the dormitories, became sick.

GSD head football coach Erik Whitworth said that while varying diagnoses have been relayed to the school, no cases of the H1N1 virus have been reported.

Many have been diagnosed with strep throat, sinus infections and the regular flu, according to Whitworth.

“We just had kind of an outbreak,” Whitworth said.

The football team cancelled their contest against the Tennessee School for the Deaf, which was scheduled for Saturday night in Knoxville, Tenn.

As of Thursday, a total of 22 students had been sent home since Sunday night. By Friday morning, 11 football players and three volleyball players were among the students sent home.

The absences left just seven able players for Whitworth to take with him to Knoxville to play in the eight-man contest.

Whitworth said that Lee Shiver, director of the state-run school in Cave Spring, made the call to send the students home and have them return Sunday.

He said he doesn’t know when they will be able to reschedule their football game with Tennessee.

“My boys were upset,” Whitworth said. “And even though we loss several starters, when we had at least nine able to play we had a decent team.”