Excel Academy in Arvada will be closed all of this week after one of its students has been confirmed to have H1N1 flu, state and county health officials announced this afternoon at a news conference.
Two additional cases of the flu were confirmed in the state, raising the total number to four. Both new cases are out of Jefferson County, a middle school-age boy and a man in his 20s. Both are recovering and did not require hospitalization, said Ned Calonge, the state’s chief medical officer.
The boy’s school will be closed for a week after consultation with health officials. The K-8 school of 450 students was closed last week for break, so the additional closure will be in line with recommendations from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Calonge said the boy had traveled to affected areas of the United States, and the man had opportunity to be exposed to be people who had traveled in affected areas.
Last week the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced that a Denver International Airport baggage handler and an Arapahoe County woman who had traveled to Mexico had contracted the flu.
The woman was recovering and didn’t need to be hospitalized. The baggage handler was hospitalized but was expected to be released on Friday.
So far the CDC has confirmed 226 cases of the flu strain throughout the country. Only one case has been fatal — that of a Mexican toddler who was visiting relatives in Texas.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
