Three more public schools were shut down Friday after more students reportedly tested positive for the swine flu or H1N1 virus, bringing the total to six schools closed as a result of the most recent outbreak in New York City.

The three latest schools affected are IS 318 in Williamsburg, JHS 74 in Bayside, and PS 107 in Flushing.

Nearly 300 students called out at IS 318 in Brooklyn.

It may appear the swine flu is back, but Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden says it never went away.

“It appears at this point, at least in schools in New York City, in these days to be spreading more rapidly than traditional influenza spreads. We don’t know why that is,” said Frieden.

On Thursday the city shut down PS-16 in Corona, IS-5 in Elmhurst and IS-238 in Hollis after dozens of students came down with flu symptoms.

At least four students at IS 238 have confirmed cases of swine flu. While most have mild symptoms, the assistant principal, Mitch Wiener, has the most serious case of swine flu the city has seen so far, and he’s hospitalized in critical condition. Wiener’s family believes the school should have closed sooner.

“I’m outraged. What does it take to close a school? You can close a school because of snow but not because of illness that can be deadly?” said Wiener’s wife, Bonnie.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the latest cases of swine flu are generally mild though, and that with the exception of Wiener, victims have recovered quickly.

The affected will be closed until next Friday, May 22.

The mayor said the assistant principal of IS-238, Mitch Wiener, may have had pre-existing health problems — but on Friday, Wiener’s son Adam said his father had only suffered previously from gout, which he said was unrelated to his current condition. He said his 55-year-old father is now suffering from pneumonia, kidney failure, dehydration and a lung infection.

“I don’t know where people got that,” Adam Wiener, 23, said Friday morning as he prepared to return to the hospital where the family was keeping vigil.
“The only pre-existing condition he has is gout, which is unrelated to complications he’s experienced now.”

(Source: CBS2 HD)