TWO of the region’s schools have now been forced to close because of swine flu.
The number of confirmed swine flu cases at Teesside High School, in Eaglescliffe, near Stockton, has soared from six to 20.
And in North Yorkshire, Ripon Grammar school has also been forced to close after a pupil went down with the virus.
Despite the 14 extra cases of confirmed swine flu at Teesside High School, health bosses are urging people to stay calm.
Teesside’s executive director of public health, Professor Peter Kelly, said the new cases were part of the original outbreak at the school and were not surprising.
He stressed that the new cases showed mild flu symptoms and were responding well to the antiviral Tamiflu tablets given to students and their families earlier this week.
The private school is closed this week, although older students are being allowed in to sit their GCSE and A-level exams.
Efforts to trace how pupils came into contact with swine flu are still continuing.
One of the 20 cases is a sister or brother of a pupil.
All the rest are pupils or staff.
Experts at the Health Protection Agency believe all of the new cases had caught swine flu before the control measures were put in place at the weekend.
Yesterday, parents of pupils at Ripon Grammar School were told it would be closed until June 18 as a precaution.
However special arrangements are being made for pupils who are due to sit examinations.
They will go ahead as planned for all pupils providing they are well.
One pupil from the school has been diagnosed with the virus and is responding well to treatment at home.
A spokesman said: “Pupils at most risk are those who have had 15 minutes or more face-to-face contact with the infected person or have been in the same room as an infected person for an hour or more.
“The Health Protection Agency in conjunction with the school has identified that pupils in year seven are considered as close contacts of the case and will be offered antiviral medication as a precaution.”
The school will be open between noon and 2pm today in order to distribute the medication as quickly as possible.
The new cases brings the total of confirmed swine flu cases in the North-East to 22.
In North Yorkshire, in addition to the Ripon case, a soldier from Catterick Garrison is recovering from the flu as well as a woman from the Hambleton district and an Eton schoolboy who lives at Linton-on-Ouse.
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