Almost 1,000 students at a high school in Virginia did not attend school Friday due to flu-like symptoms. That’s almost 50% of the students.

Health officials are working on identifying the cause of the illness that has appeared to have spread throughout the school. 

Sandra K. Osborn, the Stafford County Public Schools Chief Communications Officer, said that about 1,000 students at the Stafford High School were absent from the school with flu-like or gastrointestinal symptoms. 

Stafford High School’s administration sent a letter to all parents and guardians saying that the school was very concerned about the illness and that extracurricular activities and athletics scheduled for Sunday would be canceled.

Allen Hicks, Stafford High School Principal, said the custodial staff would thoroughly wipe down the entire school that evening. “We are concerned, and we will continue to monitor the situation and alert parents in due course on any changes the administration will take about the school operations,” the letter read. 

Stafford High School, located in northern Virginia’s city of Fredericksburg, has about 2100 students.

This comes amid an increased concern among US health officials about the impact of the flu season this year as the virus continues to spread throughout the country.

This month, another high school in California experienced many absences from students with flu-like symptoms. Flu season in the United States usually increases in October and peaks during winter between December and February.

Patrick Henry High School in San Diego, which has a total enrollment of 2,600 students, reported almost 1,000 students missing school. Although most students tested for COVID in the school were negative, they had positive results for flu.

Del Norte High School, also in California, saw 400 students miss school with flu and cold symptoms.

Dr. Cameron Kaiser, a public health officer from San Diego, said that they were expecting this year’s influenza season to be rough with the removal of COVID-19 restrictions.

According to the CDC, most states have reported an early increase in seasonal flu. This week alone, 1,674 people have been hospitalized with influenza, with the highest number of flu cases coming from the Southeast and South-Central area of the US.

The CDC reported that although the current levels of flu activity across the country are relatively low, they have seen a spike in influenza activity; the numbers vary in various regions, with eight areas experiencing moderate activity. In contrast, ten locations experienced very high activity this week.

The CDC’s Immunization Practices, an advisory committee, issued a report on its recommendations for this year’s seasonal flu shots. In the report, the committee recommends that everyone over six months of age get the annual flu vaccine, especially pregnant women.