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Illinois Math And Science Academy Closes For A Week Over Flu Outbreak

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois Math and Science Academy in west suburban Aurora has canceled classes for the rest of the week, because of a flu outbreak on campus.

Officials said 88 of the 637 students and 13 of the 55 staff members have the flu.

After consulting with the Kane County Health Department and Rush Copley Medical Center, school officials determined they needed to shut down the school, where students live on campus in dormitories.

It's a drastic measure that was taken to stop the spread of a particularly dangerous flu virus, which already has claimed thousands of lives across the U.S.

Parents have been told to pick up their children from the residential college prep school by 5 p.m. Tuesday. For students who live downstate, the school arranged for a bus to drive to three towns along Interstate 55 -- Bloomington, Springfield, and Fairview Heights. That bus was scheduled to leave campus at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

The school has students from 52 of the 102 counties in Illinois.

Officials have planned a deep-cleaning and sanitizing process for the campus, which will keep the school closed for the rest of the week.

"Our maintenance team is following the CDC guidelines for sanitation; which includes peroxide-based solutions on hard surfaces, applying sanitizing solution to floors, hospital-grade disinfectants to bathrooms and all surfaces," IMSA director of public affairs Tami Armstrong said.

All classes and activities have been canceled until Monday. Students have been told they can return to campus on Sunday.

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