Pickett County schools will be closed the rest of the week due to illness.
Director of schools Diane Elder said she made the decision to close schools after talking with a local pediatrician.
“We have over 20-percent absent today and we had several leaving with fever,” Elder said. “We talked to the pediatrician. She said the flu was rampant and wanted to discuss the possibility of closing schools. Upon that advice, we decided to close because our attendance was so low.”
Elder said closing schools prevents any sickness from spreading and gives sick students an opportunity to get better.
“We are asking our teachers to take those extra steps to make sure the classrooms are sanitized,” Elder said. “Our custodians will do the same things with the rest of the schools.”
Elder said schools will reopen on Tuesday, January 22nd.
