How El Capitan High School in Lakeside, California is Preparing for the Swine Flu (H1N1) Pandemic

The "Swine Flu" or H1N1 pandemic that is currently going on has caused a huge stir around the world. It is contagious and spreads from one person to another through coughing, sneezing, or touching an object that is contaminated with the virus and then touching your face area. Symptoms of the flu include sore throat, fever, runny/stuffy nose, cough, serious body aches (like you have been hit by a truck), chills, headache, and fatigue. If you are pregnant, have heart disease, diabetes, asthma, or kidney disease, you are considered "at high risk" and H1N1 could send you to the hospital or be fatal. Elderly people, over the age of 64, are not thought to be at high risk (as they are during seasonal flu) while young children and people under 25 have caused the most hospitalizations and fatalities. People can spread the virus up to one day before any symptoms and up to 7 days after they are sick, sometimes longer, so if you have any of the symptoms STAY HOME. Do not leave the house until the fever has been gone for 24 hours.

Schools: filled with thousands of kids milling about, breathing all over each other, touching numerous surfaces, and soap-less bathrooms. A virtual germ pit and the perfect breeding ground for any virus. N1H1 is especially dangerous at schools because it is proven that people under 25 years do not have the antibodies to ward it off. So how are schools preparing for the "Swine Flu"?

First off, all over my school (El Capitan High School in Lakeside, CA) signs are posted warning everyone to wash their hands and cover their mouths/noses when they cough or sneeze. Also, little alcohol based hand sanitizer holders have been installed near the doors for our use. Teachers encourage us to use the hand sanitizer as we come into each of our classes. All the students have been, repeatedly, reminded by our teachers to stay home if we have any of the symptoms and we are allowed to make up any tests/work that we miss within a reasonable limit. Though, in accordance with our school's rules, if we miss more than 10 days of any class we fail that class unless we attend Saturday School to make it up. Unfortunately, there is not always soap and toilet seat covers in the bathrooms.

El Capitan High School in Lakeside, California has made some changes, including making hand sanitizer available to the students. in order to prevent the H1N1 Virus from spreading to younger people who don't have the capability to ward off the flu.