Massive flu outbreak reportedly prompts Matthews school to cancel classes

Carmel Christian School announced that classes are canceled on Thursday, Jan. 11, and Friday, Jan. 12.

Charlotte TV station WSOC reports the cancellation is due to a flu-like outbreak that has sickened more than 160 students.

The school's website says that all classes and regularly scheduled events would be canceled for the two days.

On Monday, Jan. 15, classes are out for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. All activities associated with the 2018 Carmel Christian School Martin Luther King, Jr. Showcase will remain as scheduled, reported the Observer’s news partner WBTV.

Administrators hope the long weekend will allow sick students extra time to recover and prevent healthy students from being exposed to the flu, reported WSOC.

North Carolina is on the cusp of peak flu season, which normally hits highest numbers in February and March.

The number of North Carolina flu deaths has more than doubled this season compared with the same period last year, according to state statistics. Twenty N.C. residents died because of the flu from Oct. 1, 2017 through Dec. 30. For a similar period the year before, there were eight deaths. A total of 218 N.C. residents died from the flu in the last season.

This story was originally published January 11, 2018 at 8:07 AM with the headline "Massive flu outbreak reportedly prompts Matthews school to cancel classes."