Washington Prepares Schools for the Flu

Parents are worried about the spread of H1N1 (or swine flu) when school starts up in September. In advance of potential outbreaks, the Obama administration is finalizing guidelines that could scale back government-recommended school closings in response to outbreaks of H1N1. The goal is to keep schools open as much as possible. This fall, federal authorities will recommend closures only under “extenuating circumstances,” such as if a school has many children with underlying medical conditions or if many students or staff members are already sick. For more we turn to Spencer S. Hsu, a staff writer for the Washington Post.