May 19, 2009

My fellow Melrose residents,

This afternoon, I learned that two Melrose High School students have been found to have probable cases of H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.

As you may know from reading the news, most cases of the swine flu are mild. Nonetheless, this is worrisome news, and I want to reassure you that we are taking this very seriously.

Obviously, the ill children are not attending school right now, and I hope you will join me in wishing them and their families well.

A Connect-Ed message was sent to parents of children throughout the school system to inform them of this development and to remind them of proper hygiene measures.

In accordance with state and federal recommendations, Melrose High School will remain open. We will have a cleaning crew going through the school this evening to clean all the hard surfaces, and the building will be further decontaminated throughout the week.  

Health Department personnel will be available to answer your questions this evening, from 7 to 9 p.m. , at 781-979-4130. Nurses will be available at Melrose High School and in the Health Department at City Hall on Wednesday morning to answer questions as well.

At 8 p.m. tonight, I will be on MMTV (Comcast Channel 16 and Verizon Channel 38) together with Health Director Ruth Clay, Superintendent of Schools Joe Casey, and Dr. Edward Butler, chief epidemiologist at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital , to discuss the swine flu.

We have also included a link to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health fact sheet on our city website, www.cityofmelrose.org.

Please be assured that we have planned for an event like this, and we are taking every precaution to keep our children and our city safe. I will continue to keep you up to date if any further developments occur.

Sincerely,

Robert J. Dolan
Mayor