FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — About 670 students at Stafford High School were absent Monday with flu-like symptoms, according to a spokesperson with the school.
About 1,000 students and staff members were out sick Friday. That's nearly half of the student body at the school.
According to Sandra K. Osborn, the Chief Communications Officer for Stafford County Public Schools, approximately 1,000 students did not attend classes. With around 2,100 students enrolled at the high school, that means nearly half of all students were absent due to illness.
Osborn explained that the school system's health services team is working with the local health department in order to identify the root cause of the illness.
On Monday morning, Osborn said a deep cleaning had been performed.
"At this time, the VDH recommends keeping our schools open and continuing our mitigation measures. At the advice of the health department, we are canceling all after school sports and activities through Tuesday at Stafford High School only. This will help contain the spread of the illness to visiting schools. Our travel students are encouraged to follow strict mitigation strategies when coming to or from Stafford High School. We will re-evaluate activities later this week," Osborn said Tuesday.
RELATED: 'You have a lot of susceptible children' | Health experts warn that RSV cases are on the rise
Sign up for the Get Up DC newsletter: Your forecast. Your commute. Your news.
Sign up for the Capitol Breach email newsletter, delivering the latest breaking news and a roundup of the investigation into the Capitol Riots on January 6, 2021.