Knappa elementary school closes due to flu outbreak

ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) – An elementary school in northwestern Oregon will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday in an effort to stem a flu outbreak that has affected about 43 percent of the students, along with several teachers and staff.

The Daily Astorian reports Hilda Lahti Elementary School in Knappa will keep kindergartners through sixth-graders at home Tuesday and Wednesday.

Superintendent Paulette Johnson says some classes at the school Monday had only four healthy students. The school district met with county and state health officials Monday and decided to close.

Clatsop County Public Health Director Michael McNickle said there were no other school districts in the county reporting abnormally high rates of flu infection.

Columbia Memorial Hospital’s director of nursing Kendra Gohl says the incidence of influenza this winter has been higher than in the last couple of years and largely affecting younger populations.

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Information from: The Daily Astorian, http://www.dailyastorian.com