PARIS, Ky. (LEX 18) — Bourbon and McCreary County schools will not have classes on Friday as they deal with a rise in illnesses among students and staff members.
"Due to illness, Bourbon County Schools will be closed tomorrow, January 12, 2024. The Preschool/Head Start, Derby and Cougar Club daycares will remain open," Bourbon County Schools announced in a Facebook Post on Thursday.
According to the district's superintendent, Dr. Larry Begley, the decision comes after seeing a rise in a number of illnesses, including strep, the flu, COVID-19, and an unknown "stomach bug."
Begley said nearly 40 staff members district-wide had been out sick by the end of Thursday. He added that students' attendance started at about 88% on Thursday and dropped as the day went on.
"There was just no way that I felt like we could be productive tomorrow and felt like with the holiday coming up, that would give us four days to deep clean and have a healthy reset after Martin Luther King Day," he explained.
There will be no instruction on Friday, and students will make up the day at the end of the semester.
Begley expects students will return to class on Tuesday, January 16.
McCreary County Schools made a similar decision to keep students at home on Friday. The district will, however, have a "non-traditional instruction" (NTI) day on Friday, allowing students to not miss a day of school.
McCreary superintendent Brian Crawford credited the decision to a rise in cases of the flu, as well as stomach viruses.
He explained that attendance rates had dropped down to 84% on Thursday districtwide.
The Kentucky Department for Public Health also reported its first COVID-19 and flu deaths among children on Thursday, with one child passing from each virus. The department said neither of them had been vaccinated.
“It is important for people who have not been vaccinated to get their updated influenza and COVID-19 vaccines this season, along with other recommended immunizations, to protect themselves,” Kentucky public health commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said in a statement.
The department reports respiratory illnesses, which include the flu, COVID-19 and RSV, have been elevated for five consecutive weeks.
The latest state data can be found here.
