9th Hub School Closes For Flu-Like Illness

James Otis School Closed Until June 11

POSTED: 5:12 pm EDT June 3, 2009
UPDATED: 5:26 pm EDT June 3, 2009

BOSTON -- Another Bay State school has been forced to close because of unusually high numbers of absences attributed to a flu-like illness.

The James Otis Elementary School in East Boston will be closed beginning Thursday, June 4, and reopen on Thursday, June 11.

Officials hope the temporary closure will prevent new infections and avoid unnecessary illness.

So far, nine Boston public schools have been forced to close for one-week periods due to flu outbreaks.

In Massachusetts, 61 new cases of H1N1 were confirmed on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases in the state to 734.

More than 500 of the total cases have been reported in Suffolk and Middlesex Counties. About 40 of the confirmed cases have required hospitalization.

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