Local News

MILL VALLEY (CBS 5 / KCBS / AP / BCN) ― School administrators across the Bay Area were hoping to keep swine flu at bay by keeping some campuses closed on Monday.

Flu cases involving school children continued to spread throughout the region on Sunday with public health officials announcing the closure of three additional schools, one in Mill Valley, one in Berkeley and another in San Jose.

Marin County

A student at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley who contracted Marin County's fourth confirmed case of the H1N1 virus has prompted the school's closure until at least Wednesday, said Public Health Officer Dr. Fred Schwartz.

The student recently traveled to Mexico and was recovering from the virus at home, according to Schwartz.

"We take this measure out of an abundance of caution to ensure the safety of our students, staff, parents and the wider community," Schwartz said in annoucing the school's closure.

The county reported it now had four confirmed cases of the virus, although the California Department of Public Health listed two confirmed cases, and two probable cases in the county.

A 35-year-old Novato man was the county's third confirmed case on Saturday, and a 60-year-old woman and her 20-month-old granddaughter were the county's first two early last week, local officials said.

Tamalpais High was the second school in Marin County to close. On Friday, officials closed Bahia Vista Elementary School in San Rafael after a student contracted a probable case of the H1N1 virus. The student's test results were pending.

Alameda County

In Alameda County, the closure of Malcolm X Elementary School in Berkeley was announced Sunday as well due to suspected cases of the virus.

Berkeley's Acting Health Officer Dr. Janet Berreman said that an unidentified parent had a probable case of the swine flu, and that two of the parent's children developed flu-like symptoms.

"We know that dismissing schools is disruptive and we do not take this decision lightly," Berreman said. "But considering how quickly the flu can spread in a school environment, we think this is one of the most important steps we can take to reduce this flu's presence in the student and overall community. These actions are consistent with actions of neighboring health departments and school districts."

She said Malcolm X would be closed for at least seven days, and up to two weeks.

Santa Clara County

In Santa Clara County, Ruskin Elementary School in San Jose's Berryessa Union School District will not hold classes this week due to a suspected flu case.

Principal Nora Ho said Sunday that health authorities told school district officials they could expect to resume classes on May 11.

Ruskin joined five other schools that were temporarily shuttered in the county: Branham High School in San Jose, Challenger School in San Jose, Delphi Academy in Santa Clara, Elan Espirit Preschool in Santa Clara and Rucker Elementary School in the Gilroy Unified School District.
 
Rucker was set to reopen on Monday after further testing showed that a student who had been considered a "highly suspect" case did not actually have the virus.

Branham was scheduled to reopen May 6, while the remainder won't reopen until May 11, officials said.

Contra Costa County

Five more schools were also closed recently in Contra Costa County in connection with the H1N1 virus.

Brentwood Elementary School in Brentwood, Coyote Creek Elementary School in San Ramon, Shores Acres Elementary School in Bay Point, Lone Tree Elementary School in Antioch and Highlands Elementary School in Pittsburg were closed due to probable cases of the virus.

Those schools were expected to remain closed for at least a week, possibly two, according to Contra Costa County officials.

School Kids Among Many State Cases

As of Monday morning, there had been 274 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus in the U.S. and one death related to the illness, according to the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention.

California's Department of Public Health had confirmed 29 cases of the illness across the state, and continued to test 130 probable cases. There have been no swine flu deaths in California.

The median age for the state's confirmed and probable cases was 18 years old, which means many of those who had been affected so far are among the state's 6.3 million school-aged children.

Health experts said to keep the virus from spreading further, everyone should take basic precautions, such as covering one's nose and mouth when sneezing, washing hands with soap and avoiding close contact with sick people.

Though it is commonly called swine flu, so named because of its origin in pigs, the CDC noted that there is no risk of infection from the H1N1 virus from consumption of well-cooked and properly handled pork and pork products.

Mexican Cruise Ships Still Diverting To SF

Meanwhile, cruise ships bound for Mexico continued to be diverted to San Francisco this weekend due to swine flu concerns, bringing in an unexpected influx of tourists and revenue to the city.

A spokesperson for the Port of San Francisco said every time a cruise ship docks in the city, it translates into an economic impact of about $1 million.

But for some passengers, the stop in San Francisco was too close to home. Don Rudolfs of San Jose planned to take his wife and son on a Mexican cruise. Instead, they were back in the Bay Area.

"They could have stopped in the ports, but not let us off so we could have the sun, right? Now I'm back in San Francisco. I can go home, check my mail, and then get back on the ship if I like. They brought me home, that's what I'm upset about," he said. 

Even though many passengers were disappointed like Rudolfs, some said they were going to make the most of their visit to San Francisco -- since the city is among the world's most popular tourist destinations.

The federal Tourism Department in Mexico reported this weekend that cruise ships lines had canceled about 64 port calls so far that would have brought an estimated 134,000 tourists to Mexico.

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