NJ school gets extra cleaning after girl with flu dies
ELIZABETH — The state Department of Heath continues to investigate the death of a girl at Nicholas LaCorte-Peterstown School 3 to determine if she died as a result of the flu.
News of the girl's death was announced Sunday by city schools superintendent Olga Hugelmeyer in a letter posted on the district website.
"While it has been confirmed that the student had been diagnosed with Influenza, it presently remains unclear whether or not the virus was the primary contributing factor to the child’s passing," Hugelmeyer wrote.
A GoFundMe page collecting donations to help with funeral expenses identified the girl as Daniela Genaro,
The superintendent said all schools have been scrubbed down and grief counselors will be available. Schools were closed Monday for Presidents Day.
Two children in New Jersey have been confirmed as the only fatalities from the flu this season: an unvaccinated 4-year-old girl from Central Jersey and a 6-year-old from North Bergen.
Hugelmeyer said that all schools had been sanitized daily since the beginning of the school year with the LaCorte-Peterstown School and district buses all getting an additional cleaning on Monday.
The district instituted protocols that bans students with a fever of over 100 degrees from attending class until they have been symptom-free for 48 hours.
Over 14,065 cases of the flu have been confirmed this season by the NJ Department of Health as of Feb. 10, with 718 cases reported in Union County.
According to the CDC, symptoms of the flu include:
- Fever or feeling feverish/chills, although not everyone with the flu gets fever
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Muscle or body aches
- Headaches
- Fatigue (tiredness)
- Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.