Almost 100 Maine Schools Are Now in ‘Illness Outbreak’ Status
It has been a wild fall season for illnesses in Maine. I
s it just me or does it seem like our kids have all been coughing since October? Some people will tell you it's because we've been masked for so long, others will say that it's because of large flu and RSV numbers this year.
No matter the reason, it really does seem like so many people have just been SICK this season.
And, with so many kids being sick, it has been affecting dozens of schools all across Maine, and it's getting worse.
According to WGME 13, 95 schools across the state of Maine have now reached what is considered to be illness outbreak status.
The news station says that an illness outbreak status "varies by condition, but in general when there is at least 15 percent absenteeism due to illness and the majority of cases are due to the same type of illness, an outbreak is opened."
Currently of the 95 Maine schools that are in illness outbreak status, 73 of them are reported to be influenza outbreaks while another 22 are reported to have an outbreak of COVID-19, WGME reports.
The Maine Centers for Disease Control, which released these outbreak numbers, is urging Mainers who haven't received their annual influenza vaccination to do so.
It's also important to note that, while some schools have temporarily closed, not all schools that are in an outbreak status have shut down. Though the schools in outbreak status are currently dealing with large numbers of student absences due to illness.
This is an ongoing story and we will continue to keep it updated as more information becomes available to us.