Online flu reporting suspended

The online flu reporting system put into place last semester has been discontinued because seasonal influenza no longer being a threat to Rowan. The online system, which allowed students to report their illness and receive excused absences without a doctor’s note, has also been halted in order to avoid abuse of the system during finals, according to Assistant Vice President for Health and Wellness and Director of Student Health Services Nancy Pontes.

Since the start of the semester, the H1N1 flu has died down significantly throughout the state of New Jersey.

“At one point, we had 48 cases of flu documented in one week,” Pontes said. “Now this semester we only have a handful.”

The online system started as a way to prepare the health center for an overload of potentially contagious students with the flu. Its purpose was to help everyone be aware of the influenza, to influence sick students to stay at home and to keep their sickness from spreading across campus. It was useful in preventing disruption at the health center and kept them from being overwhelmed with too many sick students.

“The flu pandemic can never be predicted, so we used the online reporting system to plan for the worst,” Pontes said.
For students, the online reporting system was a useful tool for those who were too ill to go to classes.

“Because it didn’t require a doctor’s note, it is helpful to campus because if you are sick you can have the day off without worrying about problems,” said Eric Henry, a junior political science major.

Although a great number of students did report their illness on the online flu reporting system according to Pontes, many did not know about it, which may have caused a dilemma in reporting flu cases.

“I think students didn’t know about it because they didn’t check the Rowan Announcer,” said senior history major James Niederer. “I wish there were fliers about it or that our RA’s had let us know about it personally.”

The system has been suspended and will be used only if the seasonal flu hits hard again. However there are other ways for students to report their illness if they are believe they are infected by the flu.

If a student is absent more than three days and has symptoms of a fever, cough or sore throat, the Office of Residential Learning and University Housing should be contacted, according to the Rowan Announcer. The Student Health Center is always open to treat symptoms, but visiting a family doctor is also recommended.