Attendance Normal At NJ Elementary School Since Learning Child Died After Contracting Enterovirus D-68
By Cleve Bryan
HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, NJ (CBS) – School attendance was normal despite fears that a second child may have the Enterovirus D-68 at a Mercer County elementary school.
Hamilton Township School Superintendent James Parla says attendance was 93 percent at Yardville Elementary School on Monday, the first day students attended school after learning a classmate died of D-68.
On Friday health officials confirmed that Eli Waller, a four-year-old boy in the afternoon preschool class, contracted D-68 prior to his sudden death on September 25.
Tabatha Vassey says her son, who is also in preschool at Yardville but not in Waller's class, has been sick for several weeks with an unidentified respiratory illness.
He was released from the hospital and is recovering at home now while the Center for Disease Control tests a sample provided by the boy for D-68.
"He's out of the woods for now, but who knows what can happen. Anything can happen and turn this around since we're still wheezing and shortness of breath," says Vassey. "It's just a watch and wait game."
Parla says the Hamilton School District has activated a prevention strategy for D-68.
Staff has been told to instruct all students on proper hygiene and allow multiple opportunities throughout the day for children to wash their hands.
The bus companies must strictly adhere to cleanliness guidelines about wiping down all seats and surfaces each day.
The district has also approved overtime for custodial staff to thoroughly clean all the schools.
"All of the top to bottom cleaning that needs to be done it can't be the usual cleaning that we do. It has to be above and beyond that," says Parla.
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