BOONE COUNTY, Ky. -- A local high school is seeing an increase in student absences this week.
Ryle High School Principal Matt Turner tells 9News about 30 percent of students reported being absent. Since May, there has been 202 flu cases and 52 of those numbers have been reported since last Friday.
The Northern Kentucky school has about 1,600 students.
"We have reports from parents and others in the community a two to three day virus going through our community and our student body right now. We saw a little of that go through one of our feeder schools last week and we are seeing the results of that now," said Principal Matt Turner of Ryle High School.
Turner says Ryle usually has excellent attendance at around 96 percent.
I think a lot of it is because children are getting back together again after a session of being away from each other for a long period of time, being outdoors which is generally the healthiest area to be in, once you start closing people off in rooms and keeping them exposed to surfaces on a continuous basis you'll begin to see more disease," said Dr. Christopher Cunha of Pediatric Associates.
Dr. Christopher Cunha of Pediatric Associates in Crestview Hills says their office is also seeing 3 to 4 times more patients this week. The illnesses vary from the flu to strep throat.
"I think we are in for long winter, and to be diligent about good hand washing, staying home if you are feeling in and not exposing other people to potential illnesses would be my best advice to everybody," said Dr. Cunha.
"We are trying to ask parents to keep students at home and if they are showing symptoms, if they might be contagious, to stay at home until they get better and come back as quickly as they can," said Turner.
