By Howard Koplowitz
As new confirmed and suspected cases of swine flu resurfaced in the city, including the virus−related death of the assistant principal at IS 238 in Hollis, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration has been receiving both praise and criticism over its response to the outbreak.
In Queens, 16 public schools where confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu were reported had been closed Tuesday by the city Health and Education departments, which have jurisdiction over school closings.
The teachers union commended the move and said Bloomberg’s response has been adequate.
“We think the city is doing a responsible job,” said United Federation of Teachers spokesman Ron Davis.
Davis said the union is working with the Health and Education departments in collecting information on which schools have suspected swine flu cases.
But state Assemblyman Mark Weprin (D−Little Neck), an outspoken critic of city Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, said the city should close every school in District 26, where he said the absentee rate is 25 percent after some confirmed swine flu cases were present at northeast Queens schools.
Weprin said there has been a “lack of notification and coordination at the local level” in determining which schools should close.
He said the process in determining which schools should be closed is flawed because some schools in a neighborhood remain open and others closed even if students have siblings in a school where swine flu had been detected.
“As parents, we demand to know the protocol and procedure that the Department of Education and the Health Department have implemented,” Weprin said. “It is not enough to hear about scattered closings in the city.”
Bloomberg and city Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden defended the administration’s response, saying its decisions to close schools are subjective and based on a variety of factors.
“It’s not a numeric thing. It’s a subjective thing that professionals make recommendations based on their judgment at the time,” the mayor said at a Monday news conference.
Frieden said factors in determining whether to close schools include the number of students going to the nurse’s office with documented fever and the number of documented flu cases.
“There are many factors to consider when recommending closure, but obviously the health of the students, the school community, teachers, is foremost,” he said.
Bryan Lopez, a graduate of IS 238, where Assistant Principal Mitchell Wiener died Sunday from the swine flu and four students at the Hollis school were confirmed to have the virus May 11, criticized the mayor for not closing the school sooner.
“It’s a shame the Department of Education and Bloomberg took long to close the school,” said Lopez, 32. “It’s a terrible loss.”
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e−mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 173.
