“My first statement to you is the H1N1 is not going away, despite what you may have heard. People are continuing to get sick, to get hospitalized, and unfortunately, to die.” So said Dr. Anne Schuchat. spokesperson for the Center for Disease Control on May 18 when there were 5,123 confirmed cases of the swine flu in 22 states.

    Since then, the N1H1 virus has infiltrated all states but West Virginia and confirmed cases have almost doubled to over 11.000. As of today, Massachusetts has reported 785 confirmed cases, and Suffolk County, which includes Chelsea, has 306 confirmed cases, the highest in the Commonwealth.

    According to a statement made by Principal Mullaney on May 28, Chelsea High School has no confirmed cases of the virus. However, many students and some teachers at Chelsea High have been sick and absent from school with flu symptoms.

    Assistant Principal Ron Schmidt admitted that is was possible people were sick with swine flu, but cautioned that it needs to be put in perspective. “Common flu that comes around every year that people get and we never make a big deal about has been far more lethal.”

    While the N1H1 virus has not caused many deaths, it has not behaved like a traditional flu in that it is occurring in June. The CDC is concerned that the flu could stick around and come back even stronger during the traditional flu season of winter.
The CDC also reports that over 60% of confirmed cases are in healthy 5 to 24-year-olds.

    The threat of an epidemic in Chelsea caused Principal Joseph Mullaney to send out a letter to parents of high school students on April 30. The letter raised the basic awareness and precautions for the prevention of such an epidemic. Health officials recommend washing your hands with soap and water while singing "Happy Birthday" twice. Officials also stressed the idea of sneezing into your arm instead of your hands.

    Recently school custodians and sanitation officials installed soap dispensers in all bathrooms that didn't already have them. Some dispensers have the traditional anti-bacterial liquid soap while others contain an unusual powdery substance, which was in fact soap as well. Upon further inspection the device actually shaves off a bar of soap. Other than that, no notable changes were made at CHS.

    However, hand sanitizer and tissues are not available in every classroom throughout the school.