HORATIO, Ark. (KFSM) — The flu outbreak has taken its toll on a southwest Arkansas city, forcing schools to close after hundreds of students missed classes due to illness.
Officials with the Horatio School District posted a notice on the Horatio Lions Facebook page telling parents that students would be released at noon on Tuesday and would not return to classes until Monday, Feb. 4.
Horatio is located in southwest Arkansas about 45 miles northwest of Texarkana.
“We have over 300 students out today,” the school district said in the post. “Many due to the flu or were kept home to avoid getting it. So to prevent further illness and loss of instructional time, we plan to release students at noon (Tuesday) and close all campuses the rest of the week.”
The school also canceled the school’s basketball game against Murfreesboro on Tuesday night.
The Arkansas Department of Health reported Tuesday that 17 people have died from influenza in Arkansas so far this season. The ADH said 57 of the state’s 75 counties were reporting flu cases, with most of the reports coming from Benton, Washington, Sebastian, Crawford, Pulaski, Craighead, Pope, Baxter, Carroll, Johnson, White, Hot Spring and Saline counties.
Overall, the average school absenteeism late week was at a rate of 6.9 percent, the ADH said.
