Though the weather is getting warmer, the flu is still being passed around and a lot of students and staff alike are still getting sick – which is why the school is taking action with GermBlast.

“GermBlast did a fall treatment (in October) and will do a spring treatment over Spring Break,” assistant superintendent for operations Dennis Womack said. “GermBlast crews will clean and treat the whole building, including every classroom, locker room, restroom, cafeteria, gym, and even the buses.”

Implementing a service like GermBlast has many benefits for students and faculty.

“The advantages of using this program is that it reduces the germs and bacteria that are spread at school on commonly touched surfaces,” Womack said. “Left untreated, these germs and bacteria can cause illness and infection, which can lead to missing school for students or work for employees.”

This winter has been an unusual one in terms of illnesses.

“What I have noticed in particular this winter season is not so much the typical flu, but environmental allergies and viral illnesses along with upper respiratory illnesses,” nurse Jeannie Haines said. “Honestly I have to attribute it to the very different winter we’ve had, the very warm weather, and the early budding of plants and trees and all the things outside. I think anything that we can do to help with infection control is helpful and a really good thing to do. We can never honestly do too much to help prevent the spread of illness.”

Though germs thriving on surfaces in the school is a concern, Nurse Haines has another suggestion of what students should do to remain sickness-free.

“I would say that our students for the most part really do a good job with hand washing and their awareness I think is good as far as using hand sanitizer and things like that,” Haines said. ”But what is not done very well, or what’s done too well I should say, is the sharing of food and drinks. Honestly that is really where the germs are being shared. If we could all just think before we sampled someone else’s food or drink, I think that would really help.”

For anyone concerned about harmful chemicals, Womack said GermBlast is “specifically designed to be 100 percent safe.”

“Products used by GermBlast leave no harmful residues, are approved for food preparation areas, and does not require rinsing when applied to food contact surfaces,” Womack said.